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BLACKSBURG, Va., June 22 -- Shannon M. Austin of Buchanan, Va., a senior majoring in human nutrition, foods and exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was one of 127 Hokie Ambassadors who volunteered for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Virginia Tech during the 2008-09 academic year.

Hokie Ambassadors are student tour guides who show prospective students and their families around the Virginia Tech campus. In accordance with the university's motto Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), these tour guides have logged nearly 3,000 hours of service to the university this year.

Each Hokie Ambassador is responsible for leading eight tours per semester. Tours consist of current and historical information about Virginia Tech. Ambassadors must also volunteer a two hours per semester in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech is the most comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is among the top research universities in the nation. Today, Virginia Tech's eight colleges are dedicated to quality, innovation, and results through teaching, research, and outreach activities. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Southside, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.