The VMI Foundation Scholarship Banquet welcomed 135 donors and donor representatives April 20, 2024. The event, which takes place in conjunction with the spring meeting of the Foundation Board of Trustees, recognizes those members of the VMI family who have established many of the scholarships that provide cadets with millions of dollars in need- and merit-based financial aid.
The VMI Foundation held its annual Scholarship Banquet in Cocke Hall April 20, 2024. The event, which takes place in conjunction with the spring meeting of the Foundation Board of Trustees, recognizes those members of the VMI family who have established many of the scholarships that provide cadets with millions of dollars in need- and merit-based financial aid. This year, the Foundation welcomed 135 donors and donor representatives, and as is the custom at the banquet, these alumni and friends dined with many of the hundreds of cadets supported by their scholarships.
In his welcoming remarks, Ernesto V. Sampson ’98, VMI Foundation president, said, “Thanks to you, cadets … are afforded an exceptional VMI education at a cost mitigated by your generosity. … [Y]ou are an important part of the $15 million in private scholarship support made available to VMI cadets each year. The impact of those dollars cannot be overstated.”
Sampson described the benefactors’ donations in terms of investment. “You are investing in first-generation college students and multi-generation legacies, in cadets who wear academic stars for their academic prowess, and in others for whom no challenge is too great. You are investing in the daily lives of cadets marked by initiative, accountability, honor, commitment, pluck, and leadership.”
Cadet Grace E. Wagner ’24 offered her perspective as a scholarship recipient at the event. Wagner expressed her thanks to the donors in terms of her experience departing on spring furlough this year. “My years at VMI I’ve spent just trying to get to the next furlough; in other words, I was just trying to get away from this place.” Her reaction to departing post, therefore, surprised her and brought her to a realization. “I leave the barracks, pass the PX, I’m going around the Marshall Hall parking lot, and I look out my window and across the [Parade Ground] is barracks slowly disappearing in the background. Suddenly, the excitement I was feeling just didn’t hang true anymore. … It turns out I wasn’t as excited to leave as I thought I was. The truth is, I have 26 days left at VMI, and I’m having a really hard time thinking about having to leave this place.
“It didn’t take me long to realize why that is. It simply is the people I’ve met along the way. There are people in the room … who I love and adore so much and who have made the experience the best thing to ever happen to me. They have supported me in ways I didn’t know I needed, laughed with me, helped me, encouraged me, and given me irreplaceable relationships I could not be more thankful for. … They are what made VMI the best thing in my life. And these very people I love are the same people who you choose to support. I have such an incredible amount of appreciation for you and truly cannot thank you enough for helping my friends and brother rats be where they are today.”
She continued, “I think it is safe to assume that there are cadets in this room that simply would not be here today if it weren’t for your generosity. It hurts to think that if it were not for your support, they would not have had the opportunity to come to VMI, and I would have been stripped of the opportunity to know them—and how sad would that be. I couldn’t imagine not knowing them or going through this experience without them. I have lifelong friends because of the support you choose to give, and for that, I truly cannot thank each of you enough. You helped make VMI a place I am incredibly sad to leave, and I could not be more grateful.”
Brig. Gen. Dallas B. Clark ’99, deputy superintendent for finance and support, spoke next and compared the scholarship donors to the cadet sentinel at VMI, an institution that has existed since the school’s opening. “Each of you here are … acting as sentinels. It is you, the sentinel, who is providing watch over these cadets during the entirety of their cadetship. You stand as vigilant guardians of educational access and opportunity. Your posting, your special orders, and general orders are to watch over the pathways that lead to the barracks and the day-to-day steps that your cadets take during their four-year journey at the Institute. Your dedication to education and the VMI experience transcends mere financial support; it embodies a profound commitment to shaping the future by investing in the Corps of Cadets today.”
After the banquet, Sampson remarked, “It was another great event, well-attended by both donors and cadets, which allowed for a lot of conversations across the generations. I was sitting with Grace Wagner, who is an amazing young lady. Speaking with her made it plain to me that VMI is better than when I attended, and the Institute is in great hands.
“As to my thoughts about the donors and representatives who were here—and those who were not—I’ll borrow something from Brigadier General Clark’s superb remarks: ‘Thank you for investing, for committing, for being here today, for inspiring, for trusting, for caring, and for setting up a gift for which your name will be forever heard at VMI, a literal representation that you will always be on duty.’”
The communications officer supports the strategy for all communications, including web content, public relations messages and collateral pieces in order to articulate and promote the mission of the VMI Alumni Agencies and promote philanthropy among varied constituencies.
