My return to Virginia Military Institute

This week we did many things but one part that stuck out to me the most was our trip to VMI. Even though I already have been to VMI two times prior to this, I am still very thankful that we went there. For me it was more of a personal experience for because the past two summers I have been there for the COW (College Orientation Workshop) program. It brought back a lot of good memories, so for me, this return visit there meant much more. Another thing is that, during out tour of the Post (that’s what they call the campus of VMI) I got to see parts of the school that I never saw before, thanks to our tour guide Carlos Acosta, SBP Class of ‘18, who is just about to finish his freshman year there. Carlos gave us a very truthful perspective of the place, and he gave us a lot of details. One thing that amazed me was the church I had never been inside before — it was very beautiful. During dinner with Mr. Gene Williams, who helped me get into th COW Program, I got a chance to learn about Jonathan Daniels who was a VMI graduate who was studying to be a priest at the time of the Voting Rights Protests in Alabama in the 1960’s and who was murdered because he was helping fight for civil rights. Mr. Williams talked to us about Jonathan Daniels, and gave us advice about our trip to the Deep South: learn about yourself and how you can be part of the work that still needs to be done to correct the racial injustices in our country.

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