GRAYSON CO., TX – Monday’s thunderstorm knocked out power to about half of the Grayson County College campus. Monday was also the college’s first day of class for the fall semester, and many students say this made for a memorable start.

Sara Arellano started her first day back to Grayson County College with a light sketch, but the day ended in the dark.

"It was actually kind of a panic situation - when the storms were coming it was just booming pretty hard, and when they finally did go way the power just didn't even come back,” Arellano explained.

While the summer storm didn't damage the college, it damaged nearby power lines, knocking out power to about half of the campus that's serving more than 5,500 students this year.

"Our administration building is still open, but the bookstore and the other half of the campus, where classes are located, lost power,” Marc Payne, the VP of Student Services at GCC, said.

With no lights or AC many students were dismissed early from their evening classes. Administrators say that decision was left up to the individual instructors.

"It was really up to the instructor if they wanted to continue class or not. A lot of our courses can now be done online - school now is 24-7,” Payne said.

Northeast of the campus, the thunderstorm snapped a handful of tree branches in Denison. At Woodard and Scullin, power lines were damaged, leaving at least one home without electricity.

Some students say they were actually caught in the storm as they were driving to their evening classes at GCC.

"On the way up here at lot of high winds and rain were forcing a lot of drivers to go off the side of the road and park because it was very hard to see with the sun light and the rain,” student Chad Goucher said.

Arellano says the power outages definitely made for a dramatic start to college this year – something she says she won’t soon forget.

As of 9:30PM, administrators say power still remains off in parts of the campus - including one residence hall. But the administration building - which has electricity and AC - is open to students.