Cameron ’25: “I Feel Incredibly Fortunate”

Cadet Emma Cameron ’25 came to VMI just as many younger siblings do—she was following the lead of her two older brothers, twins Ian Cameron ’23 and Doug Cameron ’23. She’s stayed, though, for the multitude of opportunities and options available to her every day, and the realization that those chances to learn, grow, and move in new directions almost certainly wouldn’t be found elsewhere. She’s a biology major who’s also a member of the NCAA rifle team, the Rat Disciplinary Committee, and Ranger Challenge.

Cameron, who came to VMI from Chesapeake, Virginia, grew up in a military family, with both parents having served in the U.S. Coast Guard. Over the years, the family’s affiliation with VMI has grown—not only have all three Cameron children chosen the Institute, but their mother, Virginia “Ginny” Cameron now serves as executive assistant to the CEO and corporate secretary for the VMI Alumni Agencies.

But even with plenty of family ties, the Rat Line was just as hard for Cameron as it is for any other new cadet, and she had to dig deep for inspiration when challenges struck.

“During Matriculation Week, I remember there were times where I would just be hanging on the pull-up bar and just all of my brother rats staring at me, and I was like, ‘Wow. How did I get here?’” she recalled. With both her brothers and brother rats as influences, though, Cameron dug in and kept going. “I don’t want to disappoint the people around me, and I don’t want to disappoint myself,” she said of her mindset during those first few months at VMI.

Thankfully, academics, while challenging, weren’t nearly as bad as pull-ups. Cameron has embraced the chance to conduct research while working one-on-one with a professor as mentor. “I talk to my friends at other schools, and they’re all in research groups of 12 to 20 people, and all of my research has been specifically what I am doing with one professor,” she stated. “I’m incredibly fortunate to have had that experience.”

Cameron has also found that academics at VMI aren’t nearly as siloed as they might be elsewhere, and cadets are able to combine their interests. “I’m fortunate enough that as a STEM major, I could still choose to take language classes,” she commented. “I can still choose to do individual research on things that I care about and that I want to research. … I’ve learned a lot about global events—even in my biology classes, my chemistry classes—and I think that distinguishes VMI from almost every other academic program I’ve been exposed to.”

Being on the rifle team has also provided opportunities she might not have encountered elsewhere—and Cameron is grateful for the support of her athletic scholarship. “I won’t say that [the scholarship] keeps me on the team, but it definitely keeps me motivated to stay on the team,” she said. “I’ve had opportunities to participate in the SoCon championships and the Junior Olympics, and both of those have been really developmental opportunities for me, especially having only shot for a year or a year and a half at both of those points,” she stated.

Cameron has embraced the VMI leadership journey as well, serving as an S7 corporal her 3rd Class year and an S7 sergeant her 2nd Class year before taking on a different kind of role as a 1st. “I definitely switched it up a little bit my 1st Class year, and I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of the Rat Disciplinary Committee, which is definitely more about leading the Rat Mass that we are the dykes of, and that’s incredibly important to me,” she noted. “I can now leave a lasting legacy.”

Soon, Cameron will graduate from VMI and commission in the U.S. Army. Once again, she’s appreciative of VMI’s flexibility and multiple paths to service, as she was enrolled in Air Force ROTC at the start of her cadetship and then was on a non-commissioning Army track after that.

“I ended up getting super into all of the Army stuff … and decided this is the job that I want, this is the career that I wanted, this is what I want to do the rest of my life,” she related. “So having the ability to switch to any branch, including Space Force, Air Force, Coast Guard. … Switching between any branch is a great opportunity that I cannot say any other school has.”

Cameron is also well aware that private support opens doors for all cadets. “We’ve been granted a lot of opportunities because of private donations, and I feel incredibly fortunate, especially … putting a face to a name and meeting the people who made it possible for me to go to the Junior Olympics and made it possible for me to do research with the biochemistry and chemistry departments,” she said. “It’s been incredibly transformative for me because I meet the people who directly impact my cadetship and are the reason that I’m set up for such a good career after VMI.”