Browse Items (218 total)

Ebony Wilson is a 2001 graduate of Virginia Tech. She grew up in Norfolk, VA and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. She continued her service in the Navy.

In this interview, Sewell discusses the classes he was teaching as a member of the Department of Communications in 1979 during Denim Day. He recalls some of the responses he observed to the event, including the university's official stance on the Gay…

Interview with Edward Pineiro for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Edward was born in Brooklyn, NY to a Puerto Rican family. He is now the cleaning staff supervisor for the Fralin…

Dr. Edward Spencer worked in student affairs administration at Virginia Tech from 1982 to 2012, most recently serving as Vice President for Student Affairs from 2008 to 2012. From 1983 to 1989 he served as Director of Housing and Residence Life,…

Elaine Dowe Carter graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1948. Elaine grew up in Elliston, Virginia and served as president of the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association.

Reverend Dr. Ellison Adger Smyth was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended Blacksburg schools, and he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1925 with a degree in electrical engineering before answering the call to ministry.…

Esther Jones graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1939. Esther used the skills she acquired at CI to assist her husband in running a mine in Wake Forest, Montgomery County, Virginia.

Mr. Eugene Lawson and Mr. Scott Sterl are both graduates of Virginia Tech, where they met and began their relationship that is still continuing today over 42 years later. As a couple they have been very active in the communities they have lived in,…

Frank Bannister was born in Wake Forest, Virginia in 1913, and his family members were descendants of Kentland Plantation slaves, which is now Kentland Farm in Whitethorne, Virginia. Bannister describes growing up in Wake Forest, working in the…

Gladys Sokolow graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1953. Gladys grew up in Pulaski County, Virginia and later resided in Christiansburg, Virginia. Gladys served as Treasurer for the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association Board…

Gwendolyn Coleman was born in Nankudo, Namibia before moving to Mays Landing, New Jersey. Gwen graduated from Virginia Tech in Spring 2015 with a degree in the Biological Sciences. In her oral history Coleman discusses her progressive views on…

In this interview, Helene talks about realizing her sexuality in Catholic school in the early 1970s and her time as a lesbian at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s. She talks about the difficulty being out while keeping that part of her life separate…

Homer C. Sherman was born and raised in Wake Forest, Virginia. Sherman attended a local, one-room school until the eighth grade. After primary school, Homer Sherman went to work in the mines with his father. Lack of work opportunities in the…

Howard Feiertag, an instructor of hospitality and tourism management in the Pamplin College of Business, has been a Virginia Tech faculty member since 1989. In 2015 he was awarded one of the Top 30 CMP Influencers Award, which recognizes the top 30…

Irving Linwood Peddrew III was the first black student at Virginia Tech

Joseph Homer Pack was born in 1910, and he grew up in Riner, Virginia. Pack attended his local primary school, a two room schoolhouse, before briefly attending Christiansburg Institute. Later in life, Pack worked in a variety of job positions…

Jacqueline “Jackie” Eaves graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1964 and was a member of the Alumni Association. Jacqueline was born in Radford, Virginia and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Interview with Esther Jae de la Mora for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Jae de la Mora is an artist, translator, and single mother from Mexico who acquired her green card at the…

James C. Wade was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. Wade graduated from Christiansburg Institute in 1959, and served in the Army before moving back to the Montgomery County area. In this interview, Wade describes race relations in Blacksburg,…

James E. Sherman--who also went by Steve Sherman--was born in Whitethorne, Virginia and grew up in the Wake Forest community. Sherman attended Christiansburg Institute and spent his life working in the coal mines. In this interview, Sherman describes…

graduated from Virginia Tech in December of 2000. She majored in Mechanical Engineering. She served in the Air Force at Wright-Patterson base in Ohio, while pursuing an advanced degree..

Jean Elliott is the Director of Communications for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. Before coming to VT in 1999, she earned degrees from Western Maryland College and Salisbury University, then worked in sports…

Jeff Mann is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Virginia Tech. Mann started as an instructor in the English department in August of 1989, was appointed Assistant Professor in 2003,…

Class of 1971, first black scholarship athlete at Virginia Tech

Jessie Eaves graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1965 and was one of the first black students to attend Radford College. Jessie grew up in Wake Forest, Montgomery County, Virginia and served as 1st Vice President for the…

Jo Ann (Murphy) Underwood pioneered tolerance of sexual minorities on the Virginia Tech campus. She and her family came to Blacksburg in the mid-1970s. She worked as a registered nurse at Virginia Tech’s Student Health Services and was appointed the…

Interview with Johan Castañeda for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Johan Castañeda, 21, is a student at New River Community College and an activist from Colombia. His grandfather…

John Gray Williams is a Career Advisor in Career Services at Virginia Tech. From 2005 to 2008 he also attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Arts in Public and Urban Affairs program. He has been active in LGBTQ activism…

Katherine Allen is a professor of Human Development at Virginia Tech. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, she completed studies at the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University before joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1989. Allen came to…

Katherine Staats was born in Landstuhl, Germany and currently resides in Austin, Texas. She graduated from Tech with her Bachelors on the PreMed track in 2008 and now has a residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. In her…

Reverend Kenneth B. Wright was born and raised in Elliston, Virginia. Wright attended Montgomery County Public Schools, Virginia Union University, and
graduated from Roanoke College before becoming a pastor. In this interview, Wright describes the…

Leola Burford, a resident of Christiansburg, worked as a teacher in the Richmond area before getting married, and, eventually returning to the Christiansburg area. In this interview, Burford recalls her experiences at CI and Hampton University and…

Lisa Barroso arrived at Virginia Tech in the fall after Denim Day happened. She became an active member of the lesbian community and the Women's Space group. Her brother, Mark Barroso, was an editor at the Collegiate Times and is remembered by many…

Luther Kennedy Brice, Jr. began working at Virginia Tech as assistant professor of chemistry in 1954. He earned tenure two years later and became a full professor in 1966. He served as professor of chemistry and Acting Head of the Chemistry…

Luther Kennedy Brice, Jr. began working at Virginia Tech as assistant professor of chemistry in 1954. He earned tenure two years later and became a full professor in 1966. He served as professor of chemistry and Acting Head of the Chemistry…

M. Rupert Cutler was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan in 1933. Following his father's alma mater, he attended the University of Michigan and received his Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Management in 1955. His love for environmentalism and resource…

Interview with Maria Cantanero for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Maria is originally from Honduras but has lived in the area for several years. She is currently a stay-at-home…

Interview with Marisa Benavidez for the Voces of a Pandemic oral history project in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin. Marisa is a stay home spouse, mother of 5, member of the Catholic church, born in Mexico. Her family has slightly…

Mark Alan Weber, class of 1987, was born and raised in Northern Virginia. When he was a student at Virginia Tech, he served first as secretary and then as president of the gay student group, Lambda Horizon. He earned a bachelor’s of business…

Mary Beth Dunkenberger is the Senior Program Director at the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance. She joined Virginia Tech in 2001, after working in the international trade field and as an attorney in Washington, D.C.

In this oral…

Mary Smith Mills attended Christiansburg Institute from 1941 to 1945. Mary grew up in Christiansburg, Virginia and later became the first black woman to work at a clothing store in downtown Blacksburg.

Megan Nguyen is a Queer Vietnamese American originally from Northern Virginia. They attended Virginia Tech from 2012 to 2016 and studied Biology. They found the LGBTA, now HokiePRIDE, early during their time at Virginia Tech. They were involved in…

Michael Sutphin was a student at Virginia Tech from 2002-2006. While at Tech, he was a student activist involved with LGBTA (now HokiePRIDE) and a writer and editor for the Collegiate Times. During his time on campus he organized the first Freedom to…

Michelle Oshinski was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is currently earning a degree in English Education with a minor in Theatre, hoping to graduate in the Spring of 2016. Oshinski details her identity as a pansexual. She discusses how her…

In this interview, Nancy talks about her time as a lesbian at Virginia Tech in the late 1970s and her memories of the Denim Day event planned by the Gay Student Alliance as part of Gay Awareness Week in 1979.

Naomi Davidson graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1954. Naomi grew up in the Wake Forest community in Montgomery County, Virginia, and later retired in Pulaski County, Virginia.