Huskies and Hokies may sound similar, but the two mascots and the universities they represent had little in common until Feb. 14, 2008, when a gunman killed five students in a Northern Illinois University lecture hall.

After Feb. 14, the NIU Huskies would be forever linked to the Hokies of Virginia Tech, the site of the worst shooting in campus history one year ago Wednesday.

To mark the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings and thank the Hokies for their support during the aftermath of NIU's tragedy, NIU held a "Huskies for Hokies" candlelight vigil Wednesday evening.

Before hundreds of NIU students, faculty and staff gathered in the Martin Luther King Commons, university President John Peters revisted the dark days after Feb. 14.

"In the early days that followed our campus tragedy, many of us felt an odd sense of isolation," Peters said. "And then, the phone calls and the e-mails began to pour in from Virginia Tech."

"We are here tonight to express by our physical presence an intangible bond between two broken hearts," Peters said, visibly moved.

In the days and weeks after Feb. 14, counselors and students from Virginia Tech cemented that bond by visiting NIU's campus and helping the Huskie community adjust to the "new normal."

On Wednesday, NIU students said it was time to pay the Hokies back.

"We are survivors, and it is our duty, our responsibility to pay our respects to those who are no longer with us," NIU student body President Jarvis Purnell said to his peers.

The Huskies observed a moment of silence and lifted their candles, shielding the flame with their hands to keep it from dying.

Brittany Brzezinski, an NIU senior, captured the message of Wednesday's vigil in her remarks to her fellow students.

"I will forever be a Huskie, but I will always remain a Hokie," she said.

After the vigil, many students walked over to Cole Hall, the site of the Feb. 14 shooting, and placed their candles around the building.

Students said Wednesday's vigil was markedly different from a vigil NIU held last year, shortly after the shooting at Virginia Tech.

"It was a better turnout than last year," said Andrew McCormick, a communications grad student from Sycamore. "In a good way and a bad way, we understand what Virginia Tech went through."

And more than two months after the tragedy at NIU, students said they're ready to help.

"We can be of support back to them now because we're not crumbling," said Betsy Petrie, a communications grad student. "We're coming out of the ashes."