Boeing Opportunities for Corps Alumni and Cadets

Editor's note: Corps alumni wishing to capitalize on the guaranteed job interview with Boeing should reach out to vtccalumni@vt.edu to be connected with Boeing. 

By Ken Mallory ’06, assistant director of the Citizen-Leader Track/VPI Battalion

Cadets Pramil Patel (aerospace engineering, ’25) and Vivek Gopalam (electrical and ocean engineering, ’25) stood amongst some of the pillars of The Boeing Corporation on Sept. 14, 2022, to mark a significant occasion, both for Boeing and the Corps of Cadets. The cadets are recipients of a brand new opportunity where, by taking an innovation collaboration class co-sponsored by Virginia Tech and Boeing, they have been awarded internships for the upcoming summer. On hand for the event were several Boeing executives including David Calhoun VT ‘79, president and CEO, as well as Dr. Robert Smith, Boeing senior technical fellow and a Calhoun Honors Discovery Program distinguished professor of practice, among many other distinguished Boeing employees.

As part of the greater memorandum of understanding also signed that day between the Corps and the Boeing Company, this small ceremony represented the start of something much larger: all cadets participating in the Citizen-Leader Track will be provided with a job interview upon graduation from Virginia Tech. The same opportunity will exist for alumni of the Corps who have fulfilled their military service commitment. As the Corps continues its mission of growth and developing leaders of character, opportunities like this demonstrate the commitment that companies like Boeing are willing to make in recognition of the global, ethical leaders that the Corps produces.

Marc Allen, chief strategy officer of The Boeing Company and senior vice president of strategy and corporate development, affirmed that sentiment at the signing ceremony. “We know the caliber, the quality. We can commit to interview all because we know that all represent the high standard that is in place here in the program,” Allen said.

The implications of this partnership are clear and will have a direct impact on the lives of graduating Citizen-Leader cadets and Corps military alumni. Civilian cadets and Corps alumni transitioning to civilian life continue to seek ways to serve the nation, and this partnership provides a direct path towards that end. Boeing is partnering with the Corps and its alumni, not because of major, course background, or degrees conferred, but rather because of the progressive leader development model that the Corps offers and the leaders it produces, speaking volumes about the success of this program.