Browse Items (95 total)

  • Collection: VT Stories Oral History Collection (Ms2016-015)
Sam Lionberger.jpg

The university motto of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) which adorns the steps in front of the Pylons that rest atop of the War Memorial Chapel…
Buddy Russell.jpg

Virginia Tech has always been an integral part of the life of George Edwin Russell, Class of 1952. Russell, known to most as Buddy, grew up on a…
Eugene Banks.png

Eugene Banks, class of 1950, had never even seen Virginia Tech before the day he enrolled. Banks began his education in 1946 at the age of 16. While…
Joseph Barlow.jpg

Joseph Barlow was born on a farm in 1928, shortly before The Great Depression. Barlow never questioned where he was going to attend college; the…
Bill Latham.jpg

On the residential side of campus, there is an academic building where researchers from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and…
Fowler.PNG

As a Cadet in Virginia Tech’s Corps of Cadets, a student becomes an ethical ambassador for the Virginia Tech student body. Beyond the demanding…
John Bates.png

On the weekend of his 50th college reunion, John Bates finds himself pausing as he crosses the Drillfield on a quiet Sunday morning. It was as if he…
David Lowe.jpg

A life fully lived accurately sums up the the life of David Lowe. Lowe, class president of 1963 details his humble beginnings of growing up in a small…
Todd Barnes.jpg

The Corps of Cadets has been an essential thread in the fabric of Virginia Tech since 1872. Foregoing the typically collegiate experience, freshmen…
Danny Bird.png

To his grandchildren he is known as their “Hokie Pawpaw,” but to others he is known as Judge Danny W. Bird from the 27th Judicial Court in the state…
Marvin Boyd.png

As the new, starry-eyed freshman class arrives to Blacksburg in August, they begin to make their home in one of Virginia Tech’s twenty-seven…
Katie Frazier.png

Virginia Tech is known for its large campus and its striking architecture, and while it is easy to appreciate these features, many incoming students…
J and B Slaughter.png

Judy Swecker Slaughter was born into a Virginia Tech family as her father graduated class of 1935. Growing up in Woodstock, Virginia, she had decided…
A Cheek Messier.jpg

April Cheek-Messier arrived at Virginia Tech for her master's degree in history in 1996. Prior to coming to Blacksburg, she attended undergraduate…
Jeffrey Bowling.jpg

When Jeffrey Bowling graduated from high school in 1976, he did not appreciate that his friends and family all assumed he would go to Virginia Tech…
Matt Fox.jpg

Matt Fox grew up in Manassas, Virginia surrounded by the rich history of the area. As the youngest of three, Matt was the first in his family to…
Stephen Nehrt.jpg

Steve Nehrt was born outside of St. Louis, Missouri in a town called Florissant, but he grew up in Springfield, VA. Drawn to the mountainous region of…
G James.jpg

Gene James grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, born to a Virginia Tech family. His father and two brothers all graduated from Virginia Tech, which played…
Nick Moga.jpg

It is easy for us to view today’s version of Virginia Tech as a technologically advanced university that is particularly superior in the fields of…
N Strawn.jpg

Natalie Strawn Kelly grew up in Blacksburg, and was nearly predestined for Virginia Tech. She graduated in 1974, majoring in Elementary Education. In…
Curry Roberts.jpg

Curry Roberts grew up not too far from Virginia Tech’s campus in a small village in the western part of Bedford County. His parents grew up in the…
T King Jr.jpg

Theodore King, Jr. grew up on a farm in Lunenburg County, Virginia. While in high school, King was recruited by many colleges, including Virginia…
Todd Ogle.jpg

Todd Ogle grew up in Northern Virginia and pursued his undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech from 1992 and 1996. Although he never planned on…
Apryl Alexander.jpg

As part of a military family, Apryl Alexander, class of 2005, grew accustomed to a lifestyle that took her to many parts of the world. At Virginia…
Lisa Ellison.jpg

Acceptance and equality are cornerstones of today’s Hokie Nation. Lisa Ellison, a member of the 1986 graduating class, was a prominent leader of…
Goode and Daniels.png

Michael Goode, born in Richmond, Virginia, attended Virginia Tech from 2001 to 2006, majoring in business information technology. While at Virginia…
L Feury.jpg

Lorraine Feury was born and raised as a first generation immigrant in Northern Virginia. Her parents lived in Sierra Leone before moving to England…
DScarborough.jpeg

Duston Scarborough was born in Anchorage, Alaska. As his mother was in the Navy, he frequently moved around, living in places like Puerto Rico and…
K Otitoju.jpg

Kunmi Otitoju, born in Lagos, Nigera in 1983, attended Virginia Tech as a master's student in computer science from 2005 to 2007. Growing up, Kunmi…
First Af Am Women.png

Marguerite Laurette Harper Scott, also known as Chick, grew up in Norfolk, Virginia in a family of Virginia State graduates. Although she intended on…
Calvin Jamison.png

Dr. Calvin D. Jamison grew up knowing he was going to attend college, the only question was where? He was born and raised in Martinsville, Virginia…
L Johns.png

Lonnie Johns was born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia with close ties to Virginia Tech. Although he was drawn to other schools, his mother receiving a…
Frank Nolen.jpeg

Frank Nolen grew up in Macon County, North Carolina, raised with school in mind. In high school, he decided to attend North Carolina State College,…
John Frasier.jpg

The son of a head bookkeeper and a civil servant, John Frasier was born in 1933 and grew up in Arlington, Virginia. Although he grew up on the heels…
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Jack Kise was born in New Haven, Connecticut and moved around several times before landing in Portsmouth, Virginia where he spent most of his school…
Bertram Kinzey.png

Bertram Kinzey, Jr. arrived in Blacksburg as an architectural engineering student in 1940. While living in Richmond, Kinzey enrolled in the…
James Godek.jpg

We mourn the loss of a persevering and inspiring member of the Hokie community. James Godek did a lot of things in his life, but one thing he never…
Douglas Beaver.jpg

Captain Douglas J. Beaver was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. During his childhood, his father’s naval career took them all over the world to places like:…
Pamela Gryzbowski.jpeg

Pamela Gryzbowski grew up in Springfield, VA as the youngest of seven. Following her siblings, she attended college, although at Virginia Tech, from…
Ackerman, Beverine, Driscoll, and Saunders.jpg

They say that college is where you find lifelong friends, and this couldn’t be any more true for Angi Ackerman, Cecilia Beverine, Chiny Driscoll, and…
Rich and Libby Carpenter.jpg

Although Rich and Libby Carpenter each experienced their own unique version of Virginia Tech, they can both attest to the sense of community that they…
Greg Fansler.jpg

fter graduation, some Virginia Tech students are left with four years worth of memories, while others have memories surrounding the university that…
J Evans.jpg

Dr. Jack Evans grew up in California before moving to Colorado for several years. He moved again in high school to Reno, Nevada, where he then…
Nikki Giovanni.png

Renowned poet, eight time NAACP award winner, University Distinguished Professor, and the list of achievements goes on, but much to Virginia Tech’s…
Kimberly Williams.png

For Kimberly Williams, Virginia Tech has filled many roles. From 2002 to 2008 it was her university, and recently her place of employment – but it is,…
Rhonda and Phil Rogers.jpeg

For Rhonda and Phil Rogers, “the rest of history” isn’t just a well worn phrase or one that is used to indicate their place in the history of Virginia…
Matt Winston Jr..jpg

As one of Virginia Tech’s first black graduates, Matt Winston’s father was able to share a number of stories, both positive and negative, about the…
Neal Henshaw.jpg

Neal Henshaw took a roundabout path to becoming a Hokie. He was born in Buckingham, Virginia, and despite being familiar with Virginia Tech, he…
Wesley and Linda Patterson.jpeg

At a time when the world was undergoing revolution, Wesley and Linda Patterson were enjoying the academic seclusion of Virginia Tech. They both began…
Christopher Kraft Jr..jpg

Christopher Columbus Kraft, Jr. is a Class of 1944 Virginia Tech graduate born. He was born on February 28, 1924 in the small town of Phoebus,…
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