Applying to colleges midway through his senior year of high school, Cadet Zachary Denton ’27 wasn’t sure if VMI was his best fit—and he was afraid he’d missed the deadline to apply for scholarships. The son of two U.S. Army officers, Denton knew he wanted to serve in the military and run track, but he was on the fence between VMI and another college. Wavering between the two institutions, Denton applied for VMI’s Call to Duty Scholarship, which pays room and board for commissioning cadets already receiving federal ROTC scholarships.
Currently, more than 180 cadets are the recipients of these scholarships, which have been offered since the 2023–24 academic year. The Call to Duty Scholarships have been deemed a game-changer by the VMI Office of Admissions in that they are often the deciding factor swaying a cadet’s decision to enroll at VMI.
Three years ago, Denton was one of those trying to decide. “I was really on the fence about where I wanted to go [to college],” he explained. “But I got the email and just got this big smile on my face. I’m like, ‘OK, now, I really think I know where I want to go.’ I’d been talking to the coaches, I’d been talking to the [professors], and they’ve been persuading me more and more, and it’s increasing: This is the place I want to be.”
With the financial challenges of cadetship lifted, Denton has plunged headlong into his VMI journey. A psychology major, he’s conducted an independent study under the auspices of the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute, and he’s a huge fan of the department’s small class sizes and personal approach to learning. “[Faculty members are] very open about trying to engage with cadets,” said Denton. “And if you want to do research, if you want to take that next step, they’re very, very encouraging and supportive of trying to do that. And I think that’s a general rule, honestly, across all the departments, is that they’re very willing to help you. And if you want to do something, if you want to take that extra step, they’re really excited for you to do that.”
Academics, of course, are only one part of a cadet’s VMI experience—and Denton has a full plate outside of academics. He’s a member of the Institute’s NCAA Division I track and field team, where he’s a long jumper and hurdler. In addition, he’s a peer tutor, a member of the Cadet Battery, and also part of VMI’s College Debates and Discourse Initiative. At graduation, Denton plans to commission into the Army and hopefully serve as a military intelligence officer.
Without the Call to Duty Scholarship, Denton believes, there’s a very real possibility none of this would have been possible. “Coming to VMI has allowed me to try all these things I thought I would never do, and taking one step behind that is, if you have to worry about the financial piece of it, it’s a lot harder for you to look for your passions and look for your dreams,” he stated. “I can’t imagine my time at VMI without the Call to Duty Scholarship. It’s almost one and the same for me. It’s almost synonymous.”
For alumni who’ve chosen to financially support the Call to Duty Scholarships, Denton has a message of immense gratitude. “I don’t think I’d be doing nearly as well without their generosity,” he noted. “I’ve met other Call to Duty recipients. They’ve all been equally grateful. They’re all going on to do great things, whether in the corporate world or in the commissioning world.”
Because he’s such a fan of the Call to Duty Scholarships, Denton has even recruited another recipient: Cadet Sterling Root ’28, a family friend of the Dentons.
Like Denton, Cadet Elle Clancy ’27 found out about the Call to Duty Scholarships before she matriculated—and it was a deciding factor in her decision to attend VMI. A native of Woodstock, Georgia, Clancy discovered VMI through a mailing sent to her home, and as a three-sport athlete in high school, the discipline of a cadet’s daily life resonated deeply with her. Soon, her mother talked to a coworker who was an alumnus, Patrick “Pat’ Haddock ’00, and after that, the Clancy family visited VMI for an open house.
The daunting prospect of out-of-state tuition, though, threatened to put a damper on her dreams. “I knew I wanted to go to a military college, but it was hard convincing my mom because of financials,” Clancy explained.
A federal ROTC scholarship took care of tuition worries, but that still left over almost $12,000 in room and board fees, plus ancillary fees, each year. A VMI track and field coach told Clancy about the Call to Duty Scholarships, and with that in hand, she was set to attend the Institute, which had been her first choice ever since the open house visit.
Clancy came to VMI as a swimmer, but she’s since shifted her focus to the military and is now a member of the U.S. Army Ranger Challenge team. This past summer, she attended air assault school and also completed an internship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New York.
A civil engineering major, she’s a sergeant in Company B and was the internal head of operations for the Class of 2027’s Ring Figure Committee.
Would she still be at VMI without the Call to Duty Scholarship? When asked, Clancy took a moment to reflect on the question. “I think I would still be at VMI, but without the scholarship, it would definitely be a struggle, and having the scholarship makes my life a lot easier,” she stated. “I don’t have to stress. I can just focus on school. … Now I see myself going and becoming an Army officer, and I’ve been pursuing that. It’s made me invested in pursuing a commission.”
Also, like Denton, Clancy is extraordinarily thankful for the generous donors who support the Call to Duty Scholarships and make cadetship possible for so many. “It’s not just influential for me, but I know it’s also been influential for my fellow classmates who also face the same struggle [with cost],” she said.
“Every single time that I’ve met someone who’s gotten this scholarship, it’s someone that I look up to. … [The] people who are receiving the scholarship are worth your investment because they’re going to be amazing leaders one day.”
Call to Duty Scholarships Vital to VMI’s Future
“The Call to Duty Scholarship program is really part of what’s going to make our admissions process successful as we experience what every college and university is experiencing, and that’s the decline of the college-age population.”
That’s what John Williams ’88, VMI Alumni Agencies Board chair and VMI Foundation Board of Trustees president, has to say about the vital importance of the Call to Duty Scholarships, which cover room and board fees for cadets already holding federal ROTC scholarships.
“[The scholarships] not only help us attract the top talent in the country because all these young men and women are already vetted by the federal government through the ROTC scholarship program, but it’s going to help us retain them,” he continued.
The Call to Duty Scholarships, which were first offered in the 2023–24 academic year, are quite costly to provide, with an initial input of $1 million almost depleted in their initial year alone. Furthermore, they are entirely supported by private funds raised by the VMI Foundation. Because of this, Williams believes that every alum should support these scholarships to the best of their ability, and it’s especially important for those who were recipients of federal ROTC scholarships themselves.
Former ROTC scholarship recipients “were the benefactors of the nation’s generosity,” said Williams, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired after 20 years of service.
“Alumni should take a hard look at the experience they’ve been able to have as a result of the support they’ve received and try to think what it would feel like to be able to help some young man or woman achieve his or her dreams. My class just opened the Class of 1988 Call to Duty Scholarship, which we aim to have fully endowed by our 40th Reunion. Imagine if every class were to take on that challenge.”
While Williams did not receive an ROTC scholarship himself during his cadetship, he was the grateful recipient of private support through the Scott Shipp Huger Jr. ’53 Memorial Scholarship. “Without that financial support, I would not have been able to continue at VMI,” he commented.
Currently, Williams shared, the Foundation is in the early stages of a campaign to raise funds for these critically important scholarships, as they are instrumental to the Institute’s bright future.
“The Call to Duty program reflects the enduring spirit of service that defines the VMI family,” said Williams. “It is an opportunity for alumni and supporters to invest in the Institute’s future by strengthening the Corps of Cadets and the mission of leadership and service. I encourage everyone who believes in that mission to answer the call.”
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Mary Price Development Writer/Communications Specialist
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.
