Jefferson ’21: It’s Up to Me

Cadet LeAndrew Jefferson III ’21, an international studies and political science major from Detroit, Michigan, is one of four cadet chaplains. He will commission in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduation. His education is funded through the Warren W. Hobbie Scholarship.—Photo by Micalyn Miller, VMI Alumni Agencies.

Jefferson ’21: It’s Up to Me to Pay It Forward

By Molly Rolon, Associate Editor

Cadet LeAndrew L. Jefferson III ’21, a Detroit native and international studies and political science major, first heard of VMI when E. Sean Lanier ’94 invited his high school to a college fair. Later, local Michigan alumni invited him to a Founders Day dinner. Alumni have walked him through VMI in many ways since then— supporting him, introducing him to others, and expanding his network.

“No other school will take care of you—before you’re even a cadet—like VMI [alumni] will,” Jefferson said, talking about how alumni have helped him. “They make sure you’ve got everything you need before you come, make sure you know everything you need to know before you come. And then they don’t just drop you off. They also walk you through your cadetship.”

Upon first learning about the Institute, Jefferson was interested, because he saw a challenge at VMI that he didn’t see at other schools. While cadets are at VMI, they have opportunities to learn how to do many different things. Chief among these is how to lead.

“[VMI] is the leadership laboratory; it’s OK to make mistakes,” he said. “Some mistakes might end up in a lot of PTs. ... This is where it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them and move forward.”

This year, Jefferson is one of four 1st Class cadet chaplains. The job “involves spiritual, mental, and emotional counseling and encouragement to ... the entire Corps. Usually the first semester is oriented toward the rat mass and helping them and encouraging them to continue,” he explained. The cadet chaplains make sure every cadet has an outlet to speak, as well as a direct channel to talk to Col. Robert “Bob” Phillips ’87, Corps chaplain, and Maj. John Casper ’04, associate chaplain.

When Phillips taught the cadet chaplains, he told them they had to be “the nicest people in barracks,” Jefferson remembered. “You try to be the jack of all trades, resourceful. You try to be a good listener. And when the time comes, you try to be a good faith partner.”

In the 2020-21 academic year, there were difficult situations. Jefferson talked to many cadets and always checked back in with them. Recognizing that one size does not fit all, if his counsel “didn’t work,” he’d ask another cadet chaplain, another cadet, or one of the VMI chaplains to help.

Jefferson is also part of the Promaji Club, where he is the councilperson for education. One of the club’s missions is reaching out to younger cadets to “make sure that they feel comfortable at VMI and that they feel that they have a channel to make their voice be heard here at VMI.”

An event held during his last semester at VMI made a big impact on him. It was a virtual question-and-answer panel, titled “Black History Month: Through the Lens of VMI.” The event was “very emotionally striking for me,” Jefferson said; it brought together many alumni “who hadn’t seen each other in years.” For him, personally, seeing this panel of Black alumni showed him “there is living, rich history here that we can recognize and celebrate much better.”

He experienced another area of history up close and personal when he spent the summer between his 3rd and 2nd Class years working—and living—at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War at New Market as the Shaara Scholar Intern in 2019. During his time in New Market, Jefferson lived in the Bushong house—with less than modern conditions. He had a solitary, “monkish” existence in the evenings. He read everything he could find about New Market. He learned about different stories of New Market: The Bushong family, the Bushong family’s slaves, the Corps of Cadets, the town of New Market, and the overall picture of the battle. He was able to explain these stories to visitors while he gave them tours during the day.

Jefferson receives a scholarship, the Warren W. Hobbie Scholarship. The scholarship makes his time at VMI possible. It also allows him to have a different mindset. “[The scholarship] set my mind at ease to make sure that I can focus on the task at hand and the classes and make sure I’m doing everything I need to do here to be successful and not worry about paying the tuition,” he said. “Another great help to my cadetship has been from Mr. Walt [’72] and Meg Galanty, who have assisted me in tuition and guidance.”

He’ll commission into the U.S. Marine Corps this spring. Looking ahead, to after his own graduation, he would like to help future cadets the same way alumni helped him. “It’s up to me to pay it forward and make sure that I do the same thing for people to come,” Jefferson said.