International Studies Stories

Growing up right outside West Point, Dylan Poley ’27 knew he wanted to be a cadet somewhere when he went to college.

International studies and political science cadet Bryan Eckman ’29 spent his summer exploring the relationship between Afghanistan’s opium trade and public policy through VMI’s Summer Undergraduate Research Institute.

For Emily Ward ’27, VMI stood by her when injury changed her college plans — and she kept pushing forward. Now, the International Studies major, VMI soccer player and Delta Company executive officer is preparing to commission into the U.S. Army while leading her team as a 1st Class cadet.

Rye Jackson ’28, an international studies major and computer science minor at Virginia Military Institute, is researching drone detection for his 12-week Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) project, “A Multi-Modal Survey of Drone Detection Methods: Acoustic, Visual, RF, and Fusion Approaches.”

National security and intelligence work has always fascinated Rachel Baez ’28. Now, she gets to apply that interest into gaining real world experience.

Owen Johns ’28 has always been interested in how the world works, which is what drew him to an international studies major at Virginia Military Institute.

Balancing 20 credit hours, Division I athletics, and the demands of ROTC is no small task, but for Isabelle Haer ’28, that challenge is exactly the point. Haer was drawn to VMI for its framework, closeknit environment, along with the opportunity to pursue both athletics and a potential commission.

Josiah Farrell ’28 spent his summer in Taiwan through the NCCU Huayu BEST Chinese program, turning his goal of becoming a U.S. diplomat into real-world language experience.

Col. J. Patrick Rhamey, professor in the Department of International Studies and Political Science, examines the overwhelming majority of analyses explaining the motivations for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine being not only wrong, but leading to terrible predictions of Russia’s inevitable success.

With a full academic load, leadership responsibilities, and a Division I sport, Evelyn Anderson ’27 manages one of the busiest schedules in the Corps — and she’s still pushing herself to grow.

Two Virginia Military Institute Honors cadets, John Paul Adams ’27, an English major, and Aleck Tiller ’27, an international studies major, presented at the Southern Humanities Conference.

VMI welcomes Vladimir Chlouba, Ph.D., assistant professor of leadership studies at the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, for a lecture titled, “Displaced but Not Forgotten: The Aterritorial Legacy of the Namibian Genocide.”

Lt. Col. Tim Passmore recently published an article addressing the effect of populist government on international cooperation in International Studies Quarterly, a peer-reviewed academic journal of international studies and an official journal of the International Studies Association.

Morgan Fraser ’27 talks about her time abroad with the Spanish language program in Madrid, during the Summer of 2025.

Ryan Getgood ’26 talks about his experience in the Huayu BEST program, which allowed him to study at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan.