Patrick Kiernan '25 explored the complexities of school desegregation in his honors thesis, focusing on key Supreme Court cases from the 1960s and 1970s. His research examined the challenges of enforcing desegregation post-Brown v. Board of Education, highlighting how the process was complicated.

Albert Diaz, J.D. and A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., J.D. visited several sections of the U.S. Constitutional History class March 17 and spoke with cadets regarding their work, the shape of the federal judiciary, the function of the Fourth Circuit, and their individual career paths.

Eight VMI commissioning cadets toured Greece during spring furlough through the Olmsted Foundation’s Undergraduate Program. Led by faculty, they explored historical sites, studied military and cultural history, and gained global leadership insights through a fully immersive, academic experience.

Alexis Gonzalez '25, a history major, is dedicated to helping others, a passion that led her to become an EMT and pursue a future in emergency management. Her resilience, teamwork, and service-oriented mindset have made her a standout cadet, earning the respect of her professors and classmates.

Ten cadets and three history professors visited Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas recently as part of a joint venture between the VMI chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta national history honor society, the Department of History (DoH), and VMI's John A. Adams ’71 Center.

Robert G. Parkinson, Ph.D., award winning historian of the American Revolution and author of “Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier,” captivated his audience as he shared the narrative and adventures of the real-life characters in his book.

A group of VMI cadets recently journeyed to the China Folk House Retreat in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where they immersed themselves in traditional Chinese culture.

Community is something Patrick Kiernan ’25 values in his life. It’s one of the reasons he chose to go to Virginia Military Institute and also a big part as to why he’s on the cross country team.  

Guest speakers are Michael E. Woods, professor of history and director of The Papers of Andrew Jackson at the University of Tennessee, and Reeve Huston, associate professor of history at Duke University.

Impactful, challenging, and exposure to atrocities are not ordinary descriptives for a trip to Europe for college students, but cadets at Virginia Military Institute don’t do ordinary. Recently, 18 commissioning cadets and two staff members traveled to Poland for seven days.