Old programs and documents saw the light of day for the first time in 25 years Wednesday at Beaufort County Community College.

Twenty-five years ago, officials at BCCC buried items offering a glimpse of then-modern-day life at the college, and yesterday, those same items gave a glimpse into the past.

The 3-foot time capsule, buried in 1992 with Dr. Ronald Champion at the helm, was unearthed in front of Building 1, with a crowd of students and current and former employees looking on. Groundwater had seeped in and compromised the items in the capsule, but current President Dr. David Loope dug through the mud anyway.

“This is really a tangible, concrete-and-mud and PVC pipe example of how the college sort of stands the test of time. We’re making history in the east over the last 50 years, and we do it one student at a time,” Loope said. “That’s our philosophy here, and we’re still doing it that way now.”

Among the former employees present Wednesday was Sue Brookshire. She spoke of how proud she was to see the college continue to thrive.

BCCC’s total enrollment was at 1,281 students in fall 1992. It has since grown to 3,758 as of spring 2017, according to BCCC data.

“I started working here in 1986. I was here when this was put in the ground. I worked in student services. I was a counselor, a teacher. I had lots of hats,” Brookshire recalled. “This college means so much to the neighbors, to the people in Beaufort County and the surrounding counties. It is a lifeblood, and it thrills me to see it continue. … We are very blessed.”

The Rev. Dr. Robert Cayton, chairman of the BCCC Board of Trustees, echoed Brookshire’s sentiments and praised the college for what it’s done for residents.

“We have changed the world thus far, and we will continue to change the world one person at a time, giving people the opportunity that they deserve,” Cayton said.

Loope said the college plans to bury another time capsule in the coming months. This week’s unveiling was another way in which the college is celebrating its 50^th anniversary.

“We really feel it’s really important for us to celebrate our history with the people here on campus, but also the folks that we serve in the four-county region. We are the largest service region of any community college in the state,” Loope said. “We have a big footprint in eastern North Carolina and a big job to do as a result.”