From Classroom to Cockpit: Curran Workman ’27 

This article is part of The Next Step series. While the four years at VMI are designed for cadets to push themselves academically, physically, and mentally to tackle the demands of life at a premiere military college, they also prepare cadets for life after graduation. Whether that life be one in the military or one in the private sector, VMI faculty and staff provide guidance to cadets along their journeys. One department specifically dedicated to that endeavor of post-Institute success is the Office of Career Services. In The Next Step series, we highlight cadets preparing to enter the workforce after graduation, as well as those still in the midst of their cadetship preparing for internships over the summer. 

Having the goal of flying in the military, Curran Workman ’27 knew he had to put in the hard work. This summer, he will be holding two separate internships — one as an aviation engineering intern with Garver in Denver, Colorado, and another at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.  

The civil engineering major from Virginia Beach, Virginia, wanted to pursue something in aviation, but wasn’t fully set on what path to take. It wasn’t until a Virginia Military Institute alumnus from the area he grew up in reached out to him on LinkedIn. Turned out, that alum was a project engineer in the aviation sector of Garver, which is an engineering, planning, and environmental services firm that specializes in aviation, transportation, surveying, and more. 

“I wanted to intern with Garver to gain hands-on experience in the design and field work behind aviation infrastructure,” he explained. “I’ll be mentored by an alumnus who was once in the same shoes I am in.”  

Workman will be supporting aviation infrastructure projects while participating in site visits, observing construction progress, and how designs are implemented in the field. 

“I will also work closely with a project manager, assisting with coordination, project updates, and gaining insight into how aviation projects are executed from planning to completion,” he said. 

His internship at the Coast Guard Air Station will allow him to be immersed in daily operations at the station, shadowing duty standers responsible for launching search and rescue missions, while gaining exposure to both aviation and small boat operations. 

“Throughout the program, I will also have opportunities to observe flights when available, work alongside rescue swimmers, and engage in logistics and career development experiences across multiple Coast Guard units,” he stated. 

With this internship, he said it provides him the option of seeing what it would be like to join the military and where he could get stationed in the future. The big draw was to be able to go on flights and shadow pilots in their day-to-day tasks.  

The Coast Guard internship starts in May and will last for four weeks. The internship for Garver will begin following that and continue until his return to VMI for the fall semester.  

Workman has wanted to pursue a job in the aviation field since his grandfather, who volunteered at the Military Aviation Museum, took him on an open-cockpit flight for his birthday in middle school. 

Having VMI on his resume has given him the upper hand in landing these opportunities. Plus, the supportive alumni network has been willing to help current cadets pursue opportunities, he said.  

“VMI prepared me for this next step by developing discipline, time management, and leadership through my roles in cadre, clubs, and academics, while my civil engineering coursework built a strong technical foundation,” he said. “These experiences, combined with teamwork in organizations like American Society of Civil Engineering have equipped me and prepared me for these internships with Garver and the Coast Guard.”