Cadet Stories of Impact
“The whole scene of VMI is completely worth it, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
That’s what Cadet Joshua Evans ’25, a Keydet wrestler and international studies major, has to say about his cadetship, now days away from ending. Over the course of his time at VMI, Evans has gone from a rat who struggled with academics to an upperclass cadet wearing academic stars, and he’s grateful for the support of all who’ve made his cadetship possible.
As the son of an alumnus, Charles “Charlie” Evans ’94, Evans grew up hearing his father’s VMI stories, and he’d always wanted to commission into the Army. Add in the appeal of a Division I wrestling program, and the Institute was a perfect fit.
Charlie Evans, though, didn’t overload his son with lots of advice as the days ticked down toward departure for Lexington. “[My dad] gave me some tips for sure, which definitely helped out, like focusing on academics and getting involved to make the time go by a little faster,” Evans recalled. “But other than that, he was like, this isn’t my cadetship. This is your cadetship. I want you to shape it the way you want to. So he wanted me to get the full experience without the information that he could have given me.”
Evans admitted there were moments during the Rat Line when the lure of dropping out of VMI and enlisting in the Army was strong. In the end, though, brother rats and wrestling teammates kept him on course to graduate. “I made a lot of really good friends during the Summer Transition Program, and that helped me stay and made it a lot easier, because I had friends coming in, and with wrestling, it gave me kind of an outlet for whenever I was having a rough day,” he explained. “I had a really, really good dyke, and he helped guide me through and made it a lot easier than I think some [cadets] had it, but it was still the challenge that 99% of every Rat Mass faces.”
By his own admission, Evans came to VMI as a “pretty lazy student” who’d never really learned how to study, but the demands of being a cadet-athlete and eventually holding rank in the Corps forced a change. “The more involved I got in the Corps, [the more] my grades went up,” he stated. “My best year ever academically was last year. It was the first year I had above a 3.2 GPA. And it was because I actually had that regimented day— here’s my time. I can do this, so I’m going to do it. I have to get it done.”
“The scholarship I was given shaped me by helping me stay here ... Having that extra motivation just pushed me into doing more than just wrestling and academics.”
Cadet Josh Evans '25
As a cadet-athlete, Evans has felt those time constraints acutely, and each day is packed full from beginning to end. “My days get scheduled out pretty deep into the night,” he noted. “For example, last Monday, I had a morning lift and then classes all day because I had my military science class in the morning all the way to my military science lab that went to 330, then practice, and then I had meetings right after SRC until I went to [Fellowship of Christian Athletes], and then I had to do my homework.”
He stressed, though, that this tiring schedule isn’t unique to wrestlers; rather, it’s shared by nearly all cadet-athletes. “At any time, 75% of the cadet athletes have been up since 5 in the morning, about to go to their morning lifts, and then they have to do the rest of the stuff during the day that everyone else has to do, opposed to waking up at 645 for BRC,” he said. “That hour and 45 makes a huge difference.”
During his cadetship, Evans has had scholarship support, which has served as an extra incentive to both stay the course at VMI and excel. “The scholarship I was given shaped me by helping me stay here because I had that little extra motivation to do well for my donor and be more than just a wrestler—be an overall good cadet for them because that’s what the alumni I’ve talked to focus on more,” he commented. “They don’t care if you’re just a good wrestler. … But they actually want you to be an overall good human being and cadet. Having that extra motivation just pushed me into doing more than just wrestling and academics.”
Looking back, Evans can see much to be thankful for throughout his VMI experience—rigorous academics, the chance to be part of a Division I athletic program in which he finished in fourth place at the 2025 Southern Conference Wrestling Championship, brother rats who’ll be friends for a lifetime, and even a study abroad trip to Spain.
“I’m very glad I came to VMI,” he said. “I don’t think I would have changed any of it for the world.”
At graduation, Evans will commission into the U.S. Army.
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Victoria Ferris Social Media and Communications Strategist
The social media and communications strategist is responsible for creating compelling, audience-appropriate, multi-channel content for social media, and for monitoring the VMI Alumni Agencies' social media accounts. The strategist supports all communications efforts, including email marketing deployment and training, website updating, and video editing.
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The development writer plays a key role in producing advancement communications. This role imagines, creates, and produces a variety of written communication to inspire donors to make gifts benefiting VMI. Utilizing journalistic features and storytelling, the development writer will produce content for areas such as Annual Giving, stewardship, and gift planning.
