麻豆女演员

LEXINGTON, Va., Aug. 19, 2017鈥擶ith hundreds of voices murmuring at the same time鈥�nervous rats trying to shake the jitters; parents, proud and sad at the same time, hoping to hold back tears; professors discussing classes with potential majors; recruiters making their pitches to ROTC candidates鈥擟ameron Hall was a cacophony of indistinguishable reverberations as another Matriculation rolled around Saturday, Aug. 19.

Then there was THE voice. 鈥淚f you have numbers 161-170, please come to the floor.鈥�

The group of first years corresponding with those numbers, brandishing placards with their names and company assignments, rose and made their way to the floor. Their VMI journey had begun.

Matriculation Day at VMI has always been about numbers. And Vernon Beitzel 鈥�72, VMI鈥檚 director of admissions and a man whose life really revolves around numbers, loves to share them.

鈥淭he numbers are almost identical to last year,鈥� said Beitzel. 鈥淭he most significant difference, I think, is the number of transfer students. We have 58 transfers, and that鈥檚 a huge number. We have more transfer athletes than we鈥檝e ever had, and we have a lot of kids who are transfers because they were denied last year but reapplied this year.鈥�

The 504 matriculants hail from 34 different states and four foreign countries, with 60 percent coming from Virginia. There are 110 athletes in the group. As usual, math, science and engineering dominated the choices of major, with 62 percent of the rats choosing one of those fields of study; 38 percent will focus on a liberal arts major.

Beitzel also noted that the SAT scores for the incoming rats is higher than last year鈥檚 group, jumping from an average of 1158 to 1195. The average high school grade point average for the class of 2021 is 3.66. In short, it was another quality group of rats coming to VMI, a group that has distinguished itself from a pool over more than 1,800 applicants.

Beitzel said that when choosing a new class, VMI looks at 鈥渘ot only their academic record, but the strength of their record. Then there are things like their leadership, motivation and fitness, those intangible things. And some of it鈥檚 the interest they鈥檝e demonstrated in VMI. We like kids that have been here for an open house, that have been here for an interview and have been looking at VMI for a while.鈥�

This year, however, two numbers really stand out.

When those rats filed through Cameron Hall Saturday, it marked a special anniversary. It was 20 years ago that women first signed the Matriculation Book and joined the Corps of Cadets

 鈥淚 commend them,鈥� said Yaa, Agyepong-Wiafe 鈥�18 of the first group of females to come to VMI. 鈥淚t was a completely different system back then. Now there are a lot more females, which is nice to see.鈥�

 According to Col. Vernon Beitzel 鈥�72, VMI鈥檚 director of admissions, the number of women entering VMI steadily grown since the first time they were admitted on post. This year, 63 females, the second number, walked through, just shy of the record set by this year鈥檚 first class, which came to VMI more than 70 strong.

 鈥淥ver the last 20 years, we鈥檝e at least tripled the number of female applicants,鈥� said Beitzel. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been getting around 300 female applicants. This year we鈥檒l have about 63 women in this class. We started with 30.鈥�

Laura Davis 鈥�18 knows one of those women personally. She was in Cameron Hall Saturday as her sister joined the tour. Davis, who also has two uncles who attended VMI, knew exactly what her sister was going through.

鈥淚鈥檓 a little nervous, but I know she鈥檒l do well,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 seen me go through all of it. She鈥檚 seen me come home from break crying because I didn鈥檛 want to [return]. My mom said she had a better first day than I did. I think I was a little stressed and nervous.鈥�

And that鈥檚 one thing all new cadets have in common.

 鈥淚 was really nervous,鈥� said Manuel Bloch 鈥�18, who was on hand to help guide the new guys Saturday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just scary because it鈥檚 your first day.鈥�

 鈥淚 came here knowing a little bit about VMI,鈥� added Agyepong-Wiafe. 鈥淭here are a lot of things going on, very stressful. But the first day isn鈥檛 the worst day.鈥�

 Agyepong-Wiafe acknowledged that while Matriculation can be nerve-wracking, life at VMI gets tougher, so she offered a bit of advice to the class of 2021.

 鈥淵ou get what you put in,鈥� she said. 鈥淭ry everything. Always ask for help. Put yourself out there and try to be the best you can at everything you do.鈥�

-Chris Floyd

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