The VMI Leader Journey Podcast

The Institute Relies on the Strength of the Corps with LeAndrew Jefferson '21

LeAndrew Jefferson is a First-Class Cadet from Southwest Detroit, MI. He is an international studies major, a member of the Promaji Club, a member of the Cadets' Superintendent's Advisory Board, and a Cadet Chaplain. LeAndrew discussed his introduction to VMI, the VMI network, VMI as a leadership laboratory, growing into his studies, and the difficulty of the new reality during COVID restrictions. 

Meaningful Leadership Experiences as a First-Class Private with Will Nicholson '21

Peer-to-peer leadership is the most challenging leadership position, particularly when rank (or job title) doesn't require your peers to follow you or respond to your requests. 
For this installment of the VMI Leader Journey podcast, we chose to highlight a First-Class cadet whose leadership example has been nonetheless meaningful. 
 We welcomed Officer of the Guard Association president, the cadet-in-charge (CIC) for the Cadets' Superintendents Advisory Board (CSAB), and a computer science and engineering major Will Nicholson VMI class of 2021 to sit down with us for this interview.  He shared with us how he came to be in a variety of leadership positions, how he's learned from both his coursework and relationships with staff and faculty, some of his thoughts on VMI's Honor System, and his thoughts about the current state of the corps during this pandemic semester.
Some leadership competencies covered in the conversation were self-development, mentoring, helping others, empathy, and receiving feedback.

Go with the Flow with Holly Njabo '20

Holly Njabo, VMI Class of '20, says VMI's recruitment video, research, and a beautiful acceptance letter influenced her decision to enroll sight-unseen! She didn't know it, but she was learning even then to 'Go with the Flow.' Hear more about her leadership development journey in this episode! 

Be Patient and Learn from a Variety of Leaders with Karl Renne '96

Retired CIA Agent, former marine, and entrepreneur Karl Renne, VMI Class of 1996, is a founding partner and CEO of Ghost Wolf Industries. Renne spent nearly 17 years with the CIA as a Chief Operations officer. Learn why Renne says leaders benefit from learning from all kinds of individuals and the common mistake he and others make early in their careers. Join us! You can learn more from Renne by watching his presentation from last year's alumni breakout session during our 'Disruption' leadership conference. 
The VMI Center for Leadership and Ethics (Center) sponsors this podcast as part of our strategic engagement programming. The Center's mission is to educate, engage, and inspire the VMI Corps of Cadets, staff, and faculty with leadership and character programming and share insights gleaned across all VMI programs with a broader national audience. Learn more about the Center and its programming, including the newly redesigned LEAD344 Leadership in Organizations course offered to all VMI cadets prior to graduation. 

Leaders Sacrifice with Bob Fricke '78

Bob Fricke, VMI Class of 1978, was one of our 2019 leadership conference breakout speakers.
Alumni speakers provided our audience with personal examples where individuals had to lead through or despite the disruption, addressing our theme.
In this episode, Fricke shared his definition of leadership and how that remained fairly consistent throughout his life, the powerful lessons he learned as a young lieutenant, and how that's carried over into a new teaching career. Fricke said that teaching has tested his leadership more than any other job he's had from the military, FBI, and government contracting. Hear more of Fricke's insights and advice to new cadets or even new graduates!
Robert L. Fricke ‘78 is a former military officer who served in the Field Artillery branch of the U.S. Army.  Following his military service, Mr. Fricke served as a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and retired in 2008 after 25 years with that agency.  He is currently an educator and instructor with a background in Federal law enforcement, government intelligence, and compliance in high risk, complex environments.  
You may also follow this episode on YouTube (with edited Closed Captioning) or embedded on our website with a full transcript or learn about the VMI Center for Leadership and Ethics and its programs.

Learning to Rely on Each Other with Joshua Austin '20

Josh Austin, Vice President of the VMI Class of 2020, says that the military-style structure at VMI was something he sought in a higher-education environment, but that the practice and routines of that structure gave him a kind of template he could maintain off-Post during the Coronavirus shut-down.
His role as class vice president helped him understand the value of leading by example. We talked extensively about his role in that position, which includes duties on the General Committee that evaluates and applies accountability for cadet infractions, and the dilemmas of peer-to-peer leadership.
In our conversation we covered leadership competencies such as decision making, self-development, empathy, responsibility, and responding to change.
Follow along with a closed-captioning version of this episode on YouTube or read the transcript from our website.

Leadership Roles A-Plenty with Madeleine Barrett '20

In this remote episode of our podcast prior to 2020's graduation, we got to know Madeleine Barrett,VMI ring designer for her class. Her leadership journey was an exercise in learning how to pick the right leadership roles, but admits she tried several ranging from ethics debate team to club Cadet-in-Charge. Her desire to get involved with so many gave her the chance to figure out who she is. 'Good & Plenty' is the name of a candy one typically sees at a movie theater candy counter. Said Barrett, VMI had so many leadership opportunities, she was like a 'kid in a candy store' so that's where we got the title for this episode. Hear more about the roles she had, including how she became the lead for her class ring design team, its symbology, and how it's been a source of inspiration through the closure of her senior year, and her favorite role of all - a dyke. 
 
Our Center's mission is to enhance the VMI citizen-soldier journey with programming that educates, engages, and inspires critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and leader development. The VMI Leader Journey podcast is an outreach program where our guests can share insights from their own leader's journey, and where VMI may have contributed to their personal growth. In this episode, we touched on the following leadership competencies taught in the mandatory course on leadership in organizations and addressed in the publications Leader Journey Booklet: goal-setting, prioritization, positivity, duty, and responsibility.

Learn by Observing with Jeremiah Gaulding '22

Learn by observing is great advice when you are the new kid on the block. Through Jeremiah Gaulding's various leadership roles, even coming into VMI, he found this to be a good rule of thumb. He says he finds certain challenges are easier to bear when you know everyone else is going through the same thing. Prior to attending VMI, Gaulding faced a few serious life challenges and says he was able to push through thanks to that perspective and the close relationships he had around him, including his dyke [an upper-class cadet mentor]. 
In this episode, you'll hear a little bit about VMI's 'adopt a rat' program where local families open their homes to host matriculating cadets to provide them an off-post respite from the rigors of the Ratline. Capt. Catherine Roy, communications and marketing specialist for the Center, regularly opens her home to participate in the program - and has adopted a few others she has met by way of her interactions with cadets. 
During our conversation, we touched on the following leadership values such as self-understanding, helping others, listening, responding to change, resiliency, and adaptability.