Global Education Stories

Anthony Pate ’26 spent his summer under the Tuscan sun interning with Pasta Fabianelli, gaining hands-on business experience while immersing himself in Italian culture.

Capt. Nolan Lipscomb ’19, has been named assistant director of the Office of Global Education (OGE) at Virginia Military Institute, assuming the position held for nearly 25 years by Lt. Col. Patricia Hardin.

Col. Jeff Kendrick, professor of French in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, has been named director of the Office of Global Education. Since his arrival at VMI in 2013, Kendrick has served in a variety of roles, including special assistant to the dean for permit and calendar.

Kanokpon “Gun” Mettasat ’27 spent 15 days last June living as a monk at Wat Khlong Khru Buddhist temple in Tha Sai, not far from his home in Bangkok.

Nearly two dozen traveled to Spain this summer for a study abroad program, with varying majors and minors represented, from economics and business, modern languages, history, computer science, engineering, and more. The five-week program allowed cadets to take classes at the Universidad de Alcalá.

Kaiden Minter ’26, an international studies major, is spending spring semester studying with the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Belgrade in Serbia.

Louis Wiltenmuth ’25, a mechanical engineering major, wanted to get ahead in classes this past summer, while also gaining some cultural experience. What started as a study abroad experience in Rome, turned into him becoming the cadet in charge of the program.

A field trip to the NATO Defense College and test driving a prototype electric three-wheel vehicle? All in a week’s work for cadets participating in the VMI Engineering Summer Study Abroad program in Rome.

Antonio Ahanj ’24, an international studies major at Virginia Military Institute, has been awarded a Boren Scholarship to study Arabic in Jordan during the 2023-24 academic year in the Middle East: Jordan in Amman.

Michael Piemonte ’16, an alumnus who majored in international studies and commissioned into the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer, has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award in international relations to Italy for the 2023-2024 academic year.