Thirty-Five Years: How Times Have Changed for the Better

By Brian Callsen '90, Alumni Director

Thirty-five years ago, I graduated from the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force. This May, I became the new director of alumni relations for the Corps.

 A lot has changed on Upper Quad in those 35 years, much for the better. The regiment looks fantastic on the Drillfield, numbers are up, and the band sounds great. Moreover, Corps facilities are dramatically improved—thanks to outstanding support from the alumni and friends of the Corps—and the commandant’s staff is much more robust and more of a resource. All that means that the cadets are receiving a better education and better leadership training.   

On my first weekend back in Blacksburg, the Corps conducted a pass in review to honor the new commandant, Maj. Gen. Seely, to thank the outgoing interim commandant, Brig. Gen. Edwards, and to honor the graduating senior class. The regiment is much bigger—nearly 1,300 cadets—and looks really sharp! All the commands, music, and activity took me back to my earliest military days. That same weekend, the Highty-Tighties’ jazz band, the Colonels, performed for an hour; we were all impressed with how smooth they sounded.     

I am in awe of the new facilities on the Upper Quad. All were constructed within the past ten years, and the four battalions are housed in Pearson Hall East, Pearson Hall West, and Upper Quad Hall North. They all have nice kitchens, laundry facilities, and meeting rooms. The ROTCs and the Corps staff work in CLMS, which is short for the Corps Leadership and Military Science Building, an impressive facility that respects the history of the Corps of Cadets while looking to the future in its modern classrooms and state-of-the-art wargaming facility. The CLMS is also home to the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leadership Development, which seeks to transform aspiring undergraduates into leaders through academics, real-world leadership experiences, and ethics education.

The Corps of Cadets' hard-working staff is more robust and better able to support cadets through guidance, mentoring, training, and instruction. For example, counselors provide access to services, while senior enlisted advisors provide military training and instruction. The new vice commandant assists the commandant in representing the Corps and helps the staff move in the right direction. And the Corps continues to grow—approaching its largest number since 1965—thanks to our passionate three-person recruiting staff.    

So much of this change for the better is possible because of the generous support from alumni and friends, who give to the Corps through their time and donations. It was so nice to see Corps alumni spend time with future graduates during the Senior Send-Off in May. And I look forward to working with local alumni as we volunteer during new cadet move-in on Aug. 15. Alumni and friends of the Corps also make it possible for cadets to receive important scholarships; this year the Corps provided more than $3 million in scholarship funds, helping cadets worry less about the cost of education and focus more on learning.

So much has changed for the better in the Corps of Cadets and on Upper Quad, thanks to the incredible efforts of our resourceful staff, our generous alumni and friends, and our outstanding cadets. We’d like to welcome you back home.  Corps Reunion in September would be an excellent opportunity for us to show you all the positive changes.