Class Notes

Spring 2020 Corps Review

Submit news about your deployments, job and rank changes, awards and honors, family announcements, photos, and other news at vtcc.vt.edu/classnotes.

1960s

A group of E’66 are pictured at Memorial Church at Jamestown Island in Williamsburg, Virginia. — A few brother rats from E’66 got together in Williamsburg, Virginia, in November 2019. Pictured at Memorial Church at Jamestown Island are (from left) Grayson Harding, Eva Gray Harding, Ken Whiteside, Dianne Whiteside, John Hall, and Susan Hall. Go Hokies!

1980s

Doug McGuire ’84 is now employed by MESMO Inc. as a strategic analyst in the Army National Guard G5.

Jeffrey Burkett E’89 was promoted to the rank of major general and is serving as the deputy director Joint Force Design and Development Center, Joint Staff J-7.

1990s

Capt. Jamie McGrath HT’90, retired after 29 years of service in the U.S. Navy and in fall 2019 joined the Corps of Cadets’ staff as the deputy commandant for 3rd Battalion.

Capt. Jamie McGrath (at right) receives an award — McGrath (at right) was recently awarded a Surface Navy Association Literary Award Honorable Mention for his article “Engineer-Warriors or Engineers and Warriors?” This award recognizes the best professional article published during the past year addressing the surface Navy or surface warfare issues. In his article, McGrath addressed the concerns with a generalist versus a specialized career path for surface warfare officers in light of the deadly ship collisions of 2017.

Capt. Valerie (Rud) Overstreet ’91 (at center) stands with a group of cadets. — Capt. Valerie (Rud) Overstreet ’91, the deputy superintendent and chief of staff at the U.S. Naval Academy, met with current cadets who attended the 2020 Naval Academy Leadership Conference.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Chuck Clark A’95 (at left) and Ens. Chris Us E’19 responded to the COVID-19 pandemic at Sector Miami. Clark is deployed to Miami, while Us is stationed there.

Matt Cosner E’97 was appointed the Warfare Analysis Division director for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division aboard Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. He supervises a division of 75 operations research analysts and aerospace engineers who are developing future naval aircraft, sensors, weapons, and networks.

2010s

Sean McLaughlin ’14 is a Peace Corps volunteer leader serving in Mongolia. He spent his first two years in the Mongolian countryside, teaching high school English. This year, as a volunteer leader, he worked in the Peace Corps’ main Mongolia office, serving as a bridge between staff and volunteers in the countryside. He also served Special Olympics Mongolia, where he is implementing a Motor Activity Training Program, a motor skill development initiative for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Ens. Jordan Bliss ’18 flies the Virginia Tech flag while surfaced near the North Pole. He is a member of the USS Toledo SSN-769, which conducted ICEX in February and March. ICEX is a biennial, multi-national submarine exercise that assesses combat and tactical readiness for sustained Arctic operations in the region, which is vital to national security while also conducting scientific research to improve operational capabilities in the Arctic environment. Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Gieorag Andrews.

Corps alumni (from left) Chris Selig ’18, Dixon Johnson ’16, and Sean Moughan ’18. — Corps alumni (from left) Chris Selig ’18, Dixon Johnson ’16, and Sean Moughan ’18 made their first night jump from a C-17 at Fort Bragg in December 2019.

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Chris Selig ’18 deployed with 1-504 Parachute Infantry Regiment in January to Kuwait and Iraq as a part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s Immediate Response Force. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Maier.

PFC Tyler Looby ’21 (at right) and Capt. Stephen McKnight ’15 — PFC Tyler Looby ’21 (at right) completed basic and advanced training as an infantryman at Fort Benning, Georgia, in December 2019. He signed on with the Virginia National Guard in May 2019, and this was his next step. His company commander of Echo 2-19 was Capt. Stephen McKnight ’15. They posed for a picture after Looby’s graduation.