Students Valerie Rangel of Tyler and Kellie Tucker of Gilmer sit outside on the first day back to classes for the fall semester at Tyler Junior College Monday Aug. 21, 2017. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The solar eclipse on Monday may have only been the second most exciting part of the day for students and faculty at Tyler Junior College.

Monday marked the start of the college’s 2017-2018 academic year. This year, the school will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Apache Belles and Band, as well as the 90th anniversary of its student newspaper, The Drumbeat.

TJC also will be kicking off a new social media campaign called “Pass the Pennant” to raise awareness for the campus and its impact on the community.

Rebecca Sanders, director of public affairs and media relations at TJC, said the year got off to a great start on Monday.

“There is a certain energy and excitement as you see the students who are returning, as well as those who are starting college for the first time,” she said. “The first day is always fun as everyone is finding their classes and getting acclimated to the campus that will soon be like a second home to them.”

The school has not yet released its total enrollment numbers for the fall semester or any estimates.

Sanders said that in addition to the thousands of students who came to attend classes at the campus on Monday, over a thousand visitors came to the college’s Center for Earth and Space Science Education to see the solar eclipse.

“The ‘Totality’ dome shows were all sold out Monday and crowds packed the courtyard in front of the science center to view the eclipse through special telescopes and through the solar viewers that were provided,” she said. “Today was a great start to TJC’s year.”

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