It was a markedly different ceremony from last year.

Last year, close to 10,000 individuals packed into the Convocation Center to honor the five victims of the Feb. 14 shootings. It came to mark the time and place where NIU could say, “Forward, Together Forward.”

If last year was about moving on, then this year’s ceremony was about looking forward, but never forgetting the path just taken.

“It was more of a positive, uplifting outlook towards the future,” said senior sociology major Danielle Anderson. “We see how far we’ve come.”

Anderson said she really liked the focus on character. NIU President John Peters called the ceremony a “celebration of character.”

“Character is what you do when you think no one is watching,” Peters said in his speech. “When we do more that is required, than is expected.”

Like Anderson, Meliha Mujovic, sophomore biological sciences and Spanish major, was really moved when Peters spoke of character.

“I cried the most when President Peters talked because he just got to me so much with his words of character,” Mujovic said, surrounded by the comfort of her sisters. Mujovic said the tragedy has helped her realize how precious life is.

When Peters walked on stage, he received a standing ovation, which was something Steven Hamilton, junior math education major, enjoyed. “Everything he did for the university,” Hamilton said. “His work was really appreciated.”

Character was the theme of the memorial, and Peters was not the only one who emphasized it. Five students from the School of Theatre and Dance spoke about the character of the five victims of the shooting, and the character of those who came to NIU’s aid.

Chris Radko, junior operations and management major, said he liked the performance of the five students, who seemleesly bounced off each other’s speeches regarding character.

“I thought it made it a lot more personal, especially when they brought back the memories,” Radko said. He said he liked how the ceremony mentioned and recognized the numerous organizations and groups that reached out to NIU during the initial aftermath.

The memories did come back for Matt D’Incognito, senior broadcast journalism major. Last year, he covered the shootings and the aftermath for the Northern Television Center.

“It just brought back all those memories, good and bad ones,” he said. “This is just another example of how the university has come together with the community.”

Note: Editor in Chief Michael Van Der Harst contributed to this story.