LEXINGTON, Va. – History will be made in Virginia on Saturday when Abigail Spanberger is inaugurated as the Commonwealth’s first female governor.
Keeping with tradition, Virginia Military Institute cadets will march in the inaugural parade in Richmond. Among them are three cadets who are also making history at VMI.
On post in Lexington, cadets can be seen practicing to march ahead of the parade. The group includes Sarah Woosley, a fourth-year cadet serving as VMI’s 2nd Battalion Commander.
“It’ll be cool because it’s a part of history,” Woosley said.
Woosley said serving in a leadership role at a traditionally male-dominated school has come with responsibility, but also opportunity.
“I know it kind of sounds like scary to be a female leader in a male-dominated environment, but I think if you just come in and you look for people to respect you and you do what you need to do, no one really questions or bats an eye,” she said.
Woosley said Spanberger’s inauguration sends a message beyond the parade route.
“There’s only ever been male presidents. You’re typically seeing males in political positions,” she said. “And so I do think it’s definitely important for little girls to have that person to see and be like, ‘Oh, I can be like them.’”
She added that representation at multiple levels matters.
“And not only for them to see female cadets, but then also to see the female governor,” Woosley said. “It kind of just like paves the way for it to become more normalized.”
Woosley, along with Samantha Waters and Anastasia Herrell — the 1st and 3rd Battalion Commanders, respectively — made history this year. In VMI’s 187-year history, this is the first time all three battalion commander positions have been held by women.
“None of us kind of thought of it,” Woosley said. “And I don’t think the Corps really thought of it either.”
They said the significance set in only after others pointed it out.
“Everyone was like, ‘Whoa, this is cool! There’s three females leading,’” Woosley said.
Waters said leadership is ultimately about character.
“You see someone with good character, and you look up to them,” she said. “And I think that like young women around the country can kind of have that mindset.”
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of VMI’s first graduating class that included female cadets. Herrell said the milestone is personal for her.
“My dad was actually the class of 2001, which is the first class with females in it, so the first graduating class,” Herrell said.
She said stories from alumni helped shape her perspective.
“I’ve talked to many female alumni, and I’ve heard their stories and all that. And I think they just really appreciate how much we’ve just become cadets. The whole gender thing kind of washed away,” Herrell said. “We just became, you know, brother rats. We became a community, and that’s what’s so beautiful. That’s what’s so beautiful about it.”
After marching second in Saturday’s parade, the cadets will rush back to Lexington to make it in time for the rivalry basketball game against The Citadel.