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LEXINGTON, Va., Dec. 13, 2018鈥擣or the second time in three years, a VMI cadet has been ranked number one in the nation by the U.S. Army Cadet Command.

Alec Hoopes 鈥�19 holds the top spot on the Army ROTC鈥檚 Order of Merit list, which is a comprehensive numerical ranking of all Army ROTC cadets in their final year of college. The rankings are based on a variety of factors, among them grade point average, performance on the Army physical fitness test, participation in extracurricular activities, leadership in ROTC, and performance at Advance Camp, which is a required summer training program for commissioning cadets.

This year鈥檚 Order of Merit list contains approximately 5,500 names, according to Sean Cook, operations officer with VMI鈥檚 Army ROTC.

鈥淗is performance [in ROTC] has exceeded everything we could expect,鈥� said Cook of Hoopes. 鈥淗e has a very grounded personality and a great sense of leadership. He brings everyone together. He鈥檚 a tremendous leader.鈥�

The youngest of three children in a non-military family from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Hoopes knew from high school that he wanted to attend a military college. As high school graduation loomed, he began touring schools with strong Army ROTC programs. His second stop was at VMI, and right away he knew that he鈥檇 found what he was looking for.

鈥淚 saw so many opportunities to get involved in things,鈥� said Hoopes of his decision to come to the Institute. 鈥淭here were so many opportunities to lead.鈥�

Over the course of the past four years, Hoopes has taken advantage of many of those opportunities. He鈥檚 held rank in the Corps of Cadets, serving as a corporal his 3^rd Class year and as an operations sergeant his 2^nd Class year.

This year, he鈥檚 a 1^st Class private, but only because he鈥檚 serving in the highest leadership role possible for ROTC鈥攂attalion commander, in charge of the approximately 900 cadets enrolled there.

Hoopes said he鈥檚 drawn lessons from all of his leadership experience, both within the Corps and in ROTC.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had to lead that many people at once,鈥� said Hoopes, referring to his position as battalion commander. 鈥淵ou have to give your intent in a certain way that people can understand it and take it and accomplish what needs to be done.鈥�

In the Army, Hoopes noted, a battalion commander would typically be at the lieutenant colonel level. 鈥淚t鈥檚 learning how the actual Army functions,鈥� he commented.

But it was within the Corps that Hoopes received the training needed to succeed at a high level of leadership.

鈥淭he Corps has taught me a lot about how to read people and work with others,鈥� said Hoopes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the big part about leadership. You鈥檝e got to understand the people you鈥檙e leading. And the Corps has taught me that. You鈥檝e got to work with different kinds of people every year, and you have to learn how to motivate them.鈥�

During his 2^nd Class year, Hoopes was elected to the Honor Court. After serving as an assistant prosecutor last year, this year he鈥檚 the vice president for investigations, responsible for making sure that investigations into possible breaches of VMI鈥檚 single-sanction Honor Code are conducted properly.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of extra work but I鈥檓 honored to have the position,鈥� Hoopes noted. 鈥淭he Honor Code really allows this school to be what it is.  鈥�. Without it, very little would function the way it does.鈥�

Coming in to VMI, Hoopes declared a major in civil and environmental engineering, and he quickly gravitated toward the environmental engineering aspect of that major, while maintaining a near-perfect grade point average.  He鈥檚 a member of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society.

Once he commissions, Hoopes will serve as an environmental engineer in the Army鈥檚 Medical Service Corps. Down the road, he鈥檇 like to earn his professional engineer certification and work for a technology company.

At VMI, Hoopes said he鈥檚 learned the value of consistent effort and treating others with respect.

鈥淚f you work hard at whatever you鈥檙e doing in life, you treat people the right way, and live a life of integrity and honor, there鈥檚 nothing you can鈥檛 do, essentially,鈥� he stated. 鈥淵ou can accomplish a lot by maintaining that lifestyle.鈥�

Prior to Hoopes, the last VMI cadet to hold the top slot on the Order of Merit list was John Luke Phillips 鈥�17.  Before Phillips, the last cadets to hold the number one position were Jason LaCerda 鈥�07, who commissioned in a special ceremony at the White House, and Kyle W. Schriefer '06.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the quality of the cadets that VMI is recruiting,鈥� said Cook of the Institute鈥檚 success in producing top-ranked cadets. 鈥淰MI is definitely pulling in the right future leaders.鈥�

This year, nine other VMI cadets from the Class of 2019 were ranked in the top 10 percent on the Order of Merit list. They are John O鈥橠onnell, Sarah Dolitsky, Steele Lamade II, Zachary Herring, Andrew Schifalacqua, Colton Curry, Hannah Gillan, and Jacob Drake鈥攊n addition to Washington and Lee student Collins Speed.

-Mary Price

-VMI-