Alumni return to address Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ alumni who have participated in recent combat operations in the war on terror will return to campus to speak at a Leaders in Action discussion panel at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center.
The first panel member, U.S. Air Force Capt. Will Marshall, class of ‘97, is a F15E Strike Eagle weapon systems officer. He has been involved in numerous combat operations in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marshall has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Daniel, class of ‘99, also will take part in the panel. She is a radar intercept officer in the F14 Tomcat and has had 12 combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The most recent graduate on the panel, U.S. Marine Corps Rifleman Lt. George Flynn, class of ‘01, recently returned from a follow-on tour in Afghanistan. In addition, he saw extensive combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"This is a great opportunity for recent grads to come back and tell our cadets what they have done and what they think the cadets should be focusing on to prepare for their future," said Col. Rock Roszak, USAF (Ret), director of alumni programs for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. "They get a chance to give advice to current cadets and tell them what they would have liked to have heard while they were still here."
Panel members will be available to the media after the presentation or arrangements can be made on a special basis if needed.
This is the second such panel held by the corps of cadets. This past April, four alumni returned to campus to address the Corps about their experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom. One of those returning alumni, Army1st Lt. Timothy Price, class of 2001, was killed in action last week in Iraq.
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets has been producing military and corporate leaders since the university was founded in 1872. It is one of just two remaining military corps within a large, primarily civilian university. The corps holds its members to the highest standards of loyalty, honor, integrity, and self-discipline. In return, cadets achieve high academic success and a long-lasting camaraderie with fellow members.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech has grown to become among the largest universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to putting knowledge to work through teaching, research, and outreach activities and to fulfilling its vision to be among the top research universities in the nation. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.
