Firefighters who were first on the scene when an EF-5 tornado on May 22, 2011 tore a path in Joplin participated in the opening ceremony of the "I AM JOPLIN" event, a back-to-school gathering attended by thousands of school-aged children and their parents at Missouri Southern State University. FEMA is in the city to provide assistance to the disaster survivors. Elissa Jun/FEMA