Hear from cadets majoring in civil engineering (CE) at VMI as they discuss the Institute, the CE program, dedicated faculty, and unique opportunities found in the department.

Taylor ’24: “Blessed to Be Here”

Growing up in Newton, Massachusetts, a small town near Boston, Cadet Kate Taylor ’24 never thought of herself as the kind of student who’d attend a military school. When the time came to apply to colleges, she sent applications far and wide, aiming mostly at what she calls the “big football schools.”

But when she wound up concluding her senior year of high school during the first paralyzing wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor had plenty of time to ponder her options. “We were doing virtual [instruction], so I had time to really sit with my thoughts and realize I had the normal college experience picture painted in my head,” she explained. “And that wasn’t what I needed.”

After talking with her father, who’d long presented the military as a viable career path for his children, Taylor realized that the typical large university wasn’t necessarily her best fit. COVID-19 made travel risky, so Taylor watched plenty of YouTube videos about VMI in lieu of a visit to post, and she also talked to several alumni.

Read Cadet Taylor's full story, originally published by VMI Alumni Agencies.

Butler ’23: Drum Major Leads the Beat

 “I don’t even remember what my day was like in high school because I would just go in and just ride the wave. But here, you really have to apply yourself. There’s no riding the wave because if you ride the wave, you’ll leave.” That’s how Cadet Colin Butler '23 explains his cadetship — four years of purposeful effort that have resulted in wearing academic stars as a civil engineering major, serving as drum major of Band Company, playing as a member of the Brass Quintet, and preparing to commission in the U.S. Army. It’s been a full-scale effort from the moment he matriculated, and now, with graduation just months away, Butler is very appreciative of all that VMI has given him.

Academically, VMI’s small class sizes allowed Butler to flourish in a way he might not have at a larger school. “There’s like 20 people in a class if it’s not like a gen ed class, and then, you get to really focus in on the subject,” he commented. “It’s even smaller than my high school classes, to be honest, which is weird for most people.”

The relationship built between professor and cadet is another feature unique to VMI, Butler believes. “They know you,” he stated. “They know how you act and your work ethic, and if you have a good work ethic, it pays off. They’ll trust you to do stuff.”

Read Cadet Butler's full story, originally published by VMI Alumni Agencies.

Fundamentals of Civil Engineering: Corps Connection

While their peers at larger schools might be sitting in lecture halls for most of their freshman year in college, rats in the Fundamentals of Civil Engineering course taught by Col. Dean Kershaw ’68 are in the labs, learning by doing from day one.

“We’re doing more of a trial-and-error method,” said Cadet Erin Grabeel, a member of the Rat Mass of 2023+3. “We don’t really know how we were supposed to build the water filter. So, we had to kind of brainstorm how to think about what we have used before coming in.”

Matriculating to VMI, Grabeel wasn’t sure which aspect of civil engineering appealed the most to her. “This is definitely going to further my ideas of what part of civil engineering I want to go into,” she stated.

Cadet Aaron Horton, another member of the Rat Mass of 2023+3, likewise sees the benefits of the hands-on approach to civil engineering. “What this class does is put everything under a microscope so you can learn what you’re doing … You can actually know what’s going on behind the process,” he stated.

Small classes also augment the learning process. “The classes are very intimate,” Horton explained. “I like that a lot. You can actually talk to your [professor] and build a relationship.”

Read the full story, originally published by VMI Alumni Agencies.