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Tag: Class of 2022

VMI Cadet Researches Link between Philosophy and Literature

Where does an author get his inspiration to write a fictional novel? How does an author develop character traits and personalities? Are writers and the work they create influenced by philosophers?

Carson Knox ’22 explored the relationship between writing and philosophy in his senior thesis presentation: “Nostromo and Schopenhauer’s Sublime” during Honors Week at Virginia Military Institute, held March 21-31.

“Nostromo” is a novel written by Joseph Conrad, who is considered one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. Knox considers Conrad one of his favorite authors and has enjoyed reading his books= “Heart of Darkness,” “Lord Jim,” and “The Secret Agent.” “Nostromo” is one of Conrad’s lesser-known works and was chosen specifically by Knox since little research has been done on the novel. Knox admitted that the novel is a hard book to get through and is not a lot of fun to read, but worthy of studying. Written in 1904, “Nostromo” is set in the imaginary South American country of Costaguana, threatened by a revolution. The main character, Nostromo, an honest Italian seaman, seeks to restore the country’s stolen silver treasure.

Knox looked at the influence on Conrad by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. According to Knox, Conrad was known to have read and was fond of Schopenhauer’s writings. Schopenhauer attributed suffering in life to what he called the “will,” which is striving, desire, urges, and the attachment to everything that exists. His definition of the sublime is the ability to escape the “will,” bringing on a state of serenity and higher knowledge. An example of such an escape would be meditating on the vastness of the universe and acknowledging oneself to be nothing.

Knox concluded that Schopenhauer’s philosophy helps the reader understand Conrad and the motivation of the characters he created in “Nostromo.” The work is an ethical statement, which Knox believes is Conrad’s purpose in writing the book. The characters perform unselfish acts for the benefit of others and the common good.

Knox is the son of Dave and Stacey Knox of Conroe, Texas, and the grandson of the late Richard Knox and Linda Knox of Plano, Texas and Clifford and Cynthia McFarland of Conroe, Texas. He is majoring in English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies. After graduating in May, he will be teaching 9th and 10th grade English at Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida, for the 2022-2023 academic year. He plans on attending graduate school and earning his Ph.D. in English in the future.

Valedictorian Hulburt Addresses Graduates

Christopher M. Hulburt ’22, valedictorian of the Class of 2022 at Virginia Military Institute, spoke during commencement, of what brought his fellow cadets and himself to VMI, and what kept them at VMI, and the importance of attributes like honor, duty, excellence, and integrity. Without a doubt, his peers believe that Hulburt epitomizes those qualities, as each class elects their valedictorian based on those virtues.

Hulburt described being elected valedictorian as a humbling experience. “I know the other four candidates who were on that ballot, and they are all fine cadets. I was excited that my fellow cadets awarded me with the opportunity to address them and wish them well at commencement,” stated Hulburt.

Hulburt addressed his brother rats by talking about the values that brought them all to VMI, and the moments that kept them there. “Unique individuals come to VMI, those who are eager, confident, and ultimately naïve,” he said, followed by laughter from the audience. He stated that students are drawn to the Institute by words like honor, courage, and duty, but quickly learn that VMI is an unusual place that offers unique challenges. He acknowledged that their cadetship has been marked by vocal critics questioning the system that defines their daily lives at VMI. “In a time when several hundred of our peers in Colorado Springs, Annapolis, and West Point have collectively admitted to violating their honor, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to honesty, academic integrity and responsibility,” he declared, to a loud roar of applause and cheers.

Hulburt continued by sharing the short but meaningful moments that kept the class at VMI. Many were funny, and helped deal with the stress that comes with being a cadet. Some were poignant and awe inspiring. Some provided a sense of accomplishment, some a sense of fulfillment, and some provided small pits in their stomachs. He summarized, “We came to VMI for many reasons, but we stayed for one another. Let us meet society’s loudest critics with the decency, care and devotion that we have shown one another.”

In closing Hulburt shared that the last year has been challenging and grievous. He mourned the loss of his father. He revealed that he keeps a list on his phone of hundreds of names of those who have offered support to him throughout the year. “Whenever I feel the need for encouragement, I look at the names on the list and think of you. I take considerable pride in calling you my brother rats, and look forward to marveling at your accomplishments.”

Col. M. Houston Johnson V, Ph.D., professor and head of the history department said, “Chris exemplifies the ideals of a VMI cadet—his strength of character, academic excellence, and service to the Institute highlight his commitment to the core values for which the Institute stands. I have had the pleasure of serving on Chris’ honors committee, teaching him in class, and traveling with him to Serbia and Bosnia on the Olmsted Foundation cultural immersion trip during spring furlough. In all these interactions, Chris’ thoughtfulness and desire to make the most of his opportunities were manifest; he is an engaging young man who serves as a positive influence for those around him.”

Hulburt graduated as a distinguished graduate with institute honors, having sustained a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 and completed a cross-disciplinary honors curriculum, including writing a research-based honors thesis, in addition to his major and minor requirements. 

He majored in history and minored in literary studies and Spanish. He served as president of VMI’s Omicron Delta Kappa Circle, was a peer consultant at the Writing Center, was Company G executive officer, a member of Phi Alpha Theta and Sigma Delta Pi, parade announcer, and a prosecutor on the Honor Court, with which he is especially proud. “Being prosecutor is a meaningful and important task at VMI. It isn’t fun, but for VMI’s honor code to have meaning, to be able to trust my fellow cadets as well as the alumni, violators of the honor code must be prosecuted,” said Hulburt.

Hulburt graduated from Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas. He is the son of the late Michael W. Hulburt Jr. and Shay L. Reed-Hulburt of El Paso. He is the grandson of the late retired Lt. Col. Don Travis Reed, USMC, who graduated from VMI in 1964 and Diane M. Reed, also of El Paso, and Michael W. and Kathleen Bradley Hulburt who reside in Baker City, Oregon.

After commencement, Hulburt will take a gap year to work in the private sector, then plans to enter law school at the University of Virginia. “UVA offers a dual program where I can earn my master’s degree in history and my juris doctor degree simultaneously,” said Hulburt. He wants to specialize in criminal or constitutional law and ultimately become a prosecutor.

-VMI-

Cadet Utilizes Career Services for Success

“As VMI cadets, we are sought after for our leadership, discipline, and integrity. These are qualities that are simply not reliably found at other schools.”

Alex Rodriguez ’22 is just a few days away from graduating, and he is excited to start a full time job at Lockheed Martin. A computer and information sciences major from Stafford, Virginia, Rodriguez has played on the lacrosse team, participated in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and served as the cadet-in-charge for the Cyber Club.

Rodriguez’s journey to Lockheed Martin started on LinkedIn.

“I learned a lot about LinkedIn in Lt. Col. Sheikh’s class,” Rodriguez said. “I looked up Lockheed Martin, and it gave me the results of all the alumni that work for them. I started following and messaging each alumnus, and after a week or two, one alumnus messaged me back.”

Rodriguez did a video call with the alumnus, who offered suggestions on how to competitively apply for Lockheed Martin positions.

“I applied for a position and got the interview. Within the week, I received an offer to work at Lockheed Martin in my dream position,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also credits VMI Career Services for his successful job search.

“I used Career Services to help draft my resume, do mock interviews, and ask questions when comparing job offers,” Rodriguez said. “They are a great resource to use and specialize in helping you get the right job. Once Lockheed Martin offered, I took that offer and another offer I earned to Career Services to compare them. They helped in comparing each offer almost line by line to help me make my final decision.”

He hopes cadets apply themselves to the job search and partner with Career Services and the alumni network.

“I know that the job search can be a long and tedious process, but in the end it is well worth it,” Rodriguez said. “Just like the Rat Line, you need to keep working hard, never give up, and always look for an opportunity to prove you’re an asset.”

Honors Presentation Focuses on Conflict Predictability

Is it possible to know which country will start the next war? Leon M. Thomas ’22, son of Nukhet Viteri and Robert Thomas, and the grandson of Barbara Thomas, all of Newport News, posed this question as the basis of his senior thesis at Virginia Military Institute: “Democracies and Autocracies: Structural Factors that Determine Military Interventions” and presented his findings during honors week, held March 21-31.

Thomas, who is a civil and environmental engineering major, was introduced by his project advisor, Lt. Col. Patrick J. Rhamey Jr., who stated that Thomas was the only non-international studies major who did an international studies thesis. He also said that Thomas’ thesis was “one of the more impressive honors theses” that he has had the opportunity to advise.

Interest in the research question stems from his personal observation of an increase in war and authoritarian insurgence in the world during his lifetime. He stated that this increase was occurring before the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, “which experts say is the largest military in Europe since World War II.”

Thomas underscored his visualization by sharing that he had traveled with other cadets to Serbia/Bosnia-Herzegovina on a cultural immersion trip recently, and while there, conversed with citizens of the region who felt a greater threat of war than they had for over thirty years.

By researching existing literature in the topic including writings by Immanuel Kant, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, David Leblang and Steve Chan, Thomas proposed three hypotheses:

If a country has elections giving power to the voters whose approval is required for a leader to maintain power, then that country will be less likely to start a conflict.
If a country is a military regime, then that country will be more likely to start a conflict.
If a regime has existed for a shorter amount of time, then they are more likely to start a conflict.
Thomas put his three hypotheses to six different tests and came to the following conclusions:

Regarding the first hypothesis, only democracies supported this trend, authoritarian regimes did not. Regarding the second hypothesis, the trend was rejected, there was almost no association between military regimes and initiation of conflict. Thomas believes a possible cause for this is that a military regime’s goal is to preserve its powers, and war can deplete resources and cause conflict. Regarding the third hypothesis, only democracies supported this trend as they tend to grow more stable with time, in contrast with authoritarian regimes which tend to lose stability with time.

Thomas will graduate in May. After graduation, he plans to work as a water and wastewater engineer at JMT and to commission into the U.S. Air Force.

VMI Cadet Researches Disaster Relief

Volcano eruption in Indonesia, tornadoes in the United States, Hurricane Ida, Cyclone Tauktae, flash floods in India and Nepal, floods in Germany and Belgium are just a few examples of natural disasters that occurred around the world in 2021. In the United States alone, damages from natural disasters that year totaled $145 billion.

Crowdsourcing, which is enlisting the help of a large pool of people, has historically been a valuable way to help with disaster relief. Tanner Mallari ’22 researched that subject in his senior thesis, “Evaluation of Crowdsourcing Applications in Disaster Relief”, during Honors Week at Virginia Military Institute, held March 21-31.

For his thesis, Mallari defined “crowdsourcing” as a virtual crowd, that is internet users, who retrieve or perform organizational tasks, either as volunteers or for pay. His thesis question: “Is crowdsourcing a viable solution for disaster relief?”

To answer the thesis question, Mallari examined five computer applications based on their popularity and relevance for disaster relief: Ushahidi, mTurk, MicroMappers, OpenStreetMap, and GeoCommons and evaluated them using the following criteria:

  • Effectiveness: Can it be used for the intended purpose? Is it fast and convenient?
  • Education: Does it provide support pages and guides to allowing the user to learn?
  • Privacy & Security: Is the data secure and is the user protected?
  • Compliance: Does it adhere to laws, regulations and ethical standards?
  • Mallari found that all five applications were generally effective and have a huge impact in disaster relief, and they all prioritized user education. However, he found they all need improving in providing privacy and security for the user, as well as verifying user reports that have the potential of being false or malicious.

Mallari, the son of Barbara Mallari of Folsom, California and Ricafort Mallari of Rancho Cordova, California, is majoring in computer and information sciences. After graduating in May, he will commission into the Navy as a flight officer. He wants to make a career out of the Navy and to become a permanent military professor.