RVCs-Phi-Theta-Kappa-Opens-25-Year-Old-Time-Capsules-in-Special-Campus-Event.php

RVC's Phi Theta Kappa Opens 25-Year-Old Time Capsules in Special Campus Event

• Events
• 05/06/2025

Students, employees, and members of RVC's Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter opened 25-year-old time capsules on Thursday, May 1, in the Estelle Black Library on the main campus.

The capsules were created by members of PTK in 2000 and sponsored by the Rock Valley College Foundation.

Ahead of time capsule openings, RVC Foundation Executive Director Brittany Freiberg gave a glimpse of world events that were happening in the year 2000. George W. Bush was elected 43rd President of the United States by defeating Al Gore, who was the incumbent vice president. Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft 25 years after founding the company. The dot com bubble burst, and thousands of shopping and communication companies worldwide went bust. The St Louis Rams were the Super Bowl champs. The New York Yankees won the World Series, and the New Jersey Devils clinched the Stanley Cup.

"On this very day, RVC's Phi Theta Kappa students filled and sealed two time capsules, which we're about to open today. We have no idea what's in there, so this will be as much of a surprise for us as it is for you."

Phi Theta Kappa Advisor Tim Spielman shared that Rock Valley College's Phi Theta Kappa Chapter, established on April 28, 1966, is the longest-continuous student organization, having been active for almost 60 years.

"By the 1960s, when community colleges took off, Phi Theta Kappa began to expand. The whole point of Phi Theta Kappa began to evolve, to more than recognize students, but to develop students," Tim continued, "One of the great privileges of being the advisor of Phi Theta Kappa is that I've been able to watch students develop from quiet students that don't want to be engaged to be very active students."

Once opened, the two time capsules contained delightful and intriguing surprises for students and staff who witnessed the event, some of whom were not yet born in the year 2000. A significant collection of RVC memorabilia includes athletic apparel from when RVC athletics were known as the Trojans, featuring the colors gold and brown. Additional items in the collection consist of photographs of past presidents, a VHS tape, a floppy disk, and a computer punch card. Among the more interesting pieces are a bottle of Mountain Dew and water samples from the creek located on the main campus.

A letter from former RVC President Roland J. Chapdelaine highlighted the college's role in building information technology infrastructure through IT investments and education. Some technological initiatives included offering internet-based courses, exploring wireless systems, and investing in campus-wide voice, data, and video technologies.

The PTK students plan to add new items to the time capsules and return some of the revealed contents. The time capsules will be opened once again in 2050.

About Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation's colleges. Learn more at ptk.org.