ECBU Stories

Alexander “AJ” Riley ’27 started investing in high school. That’s when his interest in finance started to bloom. 

Col. Atin Basuchoudhary, the John and Jane Roberts Institute Professor in Free Enterprise Business in the Department of Economics and Business at Virginia Military Institute, recently co-edited, “The Cambridge Handbook on the Economics of Terrorism.”

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.

Jai Vijayan ’26, an economics and business major at Virginia Military Institute, researched military logistics during World War II for his honors project, “Move and Maintain: American Last-Mile Logistics in the Solomon Islands Campaign, 1942-1944.”

Miller Tatum ’28 chose the harder path at VMI — and hasn’t looked back. Between early mornings, packed schedules, and competing at the highest level, he’s learning how discipline and time management can shape far more than four years.

From transferring into VMI to taking on the Rat Line, TJ Johnson ’28 has faced adversity head-on. Balancing basketball, academics, and the responsibilities of a cadet has taught him calm under pressure and confidence in his ability to adapt.

Edward Menton ’26 took his studies abroad to Rome and Tuscany — learning international business in and out of the classroom.

Ten members of the Cadet Investment Group (CIG) at Virginia Military Institute, along with an advisor and an instructor in the Department of Economics and Business (ECBU) traveled to Wall Street in New York City (NYC) in December, to meet with financial analysts and traders, including VMI alumni.

When Diego Henao Ospina ’28 first considered life after high school, he weighed several paths within the armed forces. Enlisting seemed like a possibility, but advice from others who knew Virginia Military Institute helped shift his focus.

Natalia Dias ’28 wanted to be set up success, and that meant finding a way to pay for college or leave her with minimal debt. She had three clear goals in school: an engineering program, U.S. Army ROTC, and cross country and track.

A sense of discipline is what drew Amari Benjamin ’27 to Virginia Military Institute. Benjamin, an economics and business major, plans on commissioning into the U.S. Army.

Virginia Military Institute cadets enrolled in the economics and business analytics class taught by Col. Barry Cobb, professor in the Department of Economics and Business, heard an award winning presentation by two juniors from Roanoke County’s Hidden Valley High School (HVHS). Madison Salinas and Alishba Sofi are both members of the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) at HVHS. DECA is an international association that prepares high school students for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through hands-on activities, competitions, and educational programs. The club holds three competitions during the academic year: district, state, and international. For the state […]

A different college experience was what Conner Reid ’27 was searching for. He said that Virginia Military Institute offered that and it’s what attracted him.

It was a goal of Luke Schalow ‘26 to play college football. But he also knew, if he could never play football again, he wanted to go to a school he would be proud to have attended.

John Kennedy ’25 used his Virginia Military Institute Honors Week presentation to tackle how asymmetries between the United States and China shape the potential for conflict in his thesis titled, “Asymmetries Between the U.S. and China in the Context of Conflict.”