Matching $150,000 Gift Aims to Assist Cadets in Need
By Katie Mallory '03, Communications Director
An anonymous Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ alumnus is working to make a difference for cadets facing financial hardship by offering a matching donation of $150,000 to the Commandant’s Response Fund.
The hope is to reach a total, after matching, of $300,000 for the fund to be available during the 2024-25 academic year, enough to fulfill projected need based on past requests.
“Like many Corps alumni, I was aware that the Emerging Leader Scholarship is probably the most important single factor leading to the growth in Corps membership from under 500 in the early 1990s to nearly 1,300 today. But each year, some cadets experience financial hardships that prevent them from paying tuition or other fees when they are due. For them, disenrollment from the university is imminent, even with the Emerging Leader Scholarship,” said the donor.
The Commandant's Response Fund was created in late 2023 to provide emergency funding to cadets facing an unexpected financial crisis affecting their enrollment at Virginia Tech. Last fiscal year, that fund provided a total of $250,000 to 70 cadets who were facing various obstacles like loss of scholarships due to medical disenrollment from ROTC, severe illness and loss of wages of a parent, food insecurity, and other unexpected situations.
Food insecurity is often an initial indicator of a situation that may later lead to disenrollment due to financial crisis. The Corps has created a food pantry to address that need and use of the pantry often leads to conversations about additional support. Nicole Freeman Ramos, the Corps’ manager of donor relations, scholarships, and stewardship, engages with cadets during those conversations to determine how else the Corps can help.
Ramos said, “The Commandant’s Response Fund has made such an impact. Without it, some of the cadets on Upper Quad today wouldn’t be here. The relief on cadets’ faces when they learn about the Commandant’s Response Fund is immediate.”
Ramos was especially moved by a cadet seeking assistance this fall.
“I had a cadet who immediately gave me the impression of complete defeat as she sat down to talk with me. While talking with her, I was imagining that she was going to ask me for a substantial amount of money, but all she needed was $1,500. That would keep her in school and give her an extra $200 to put towards her dining dollars to make sure she had enough food to get through the semester. After I told her that we could help her, she sobbed and asked if she could hug me. We stood in my office as she embraced me so tightly and sobbed into my shoulder. She even stopped by the next day to say hello and to tell me that her mom wants to visit to thank me and anyone else involved with this process as we saved her daughter’s education. I have so many of these stories I can share,” said Ramos.
Moments like this in Ramos’s office are not uncommon, and while the average assistance needed to keep a cadet enrolled is relatively small at $3,500, the effect is profound.
“There are few causes more deserving or more impactful than this one. We can literally change a young person’s life,” said the anonymous donor.
Interim Commandant of Cadets Brig. Gen. Dwayne R. Edwards echoed that sentiment.
“Our world needs leaders, but significant obstacles sometimes arise in the process of their development. We do our best to ensure we don’t lose a cadet because of a financial emergency beyond their control. The matching gift from our anonymous donor helps us keep those future leaders at Virginia Tech and in the Corps to finish their education and hone the skills needed to make a difference in the world. We are grateful beyond words for this impactful gift,” said Edwards.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this matching gift, please contact the Corps advancement office at vtcc@vt.edu to make your gift to the Commandant's Response Fund.