Forge Week Builds Confident Cadets

Forge Week is a high-intensity, fast-paced period of basic training. One the most important benefits of this week is learning how to face new challenges and overcome failure. What we expect them to do is try, identify that there's something they need to work on. And if we can get them to jump into a problem over and over and improve little by little, pushing through, developing that resilience and then ultimately coming out the other side with a win, this gives them a strong foundation headed into the academic year, for skills they’ll need to succeed. Most of Forge Week is spent teaching the freshmen how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, learning how to deal with stressful situations, and how to self-regulate when they don't know what's going to come next. A big part of Forge Week is teaching them how to grow as a person, but also work together as a team with the rest of their buds. So the obstacle course, with the Corps of Cadets is not meant to challenge you physically, but rather mentally. This week we'll put them in a new place with people they've never met before, and I'm here to help them perform better. I'm here to teach them that, hey, this is possible. They can get over this wall, they can do this obstacle course, and they can work as a team. By the end of this week, I hope the freshmen learn that we don't necessarily expect them to be perfect. We want them to be confident. Confident in what they have to say, confident in everything they do. I also hope they learn working well as a team is what's going to get you far in life. At the end of the day, we're here to develop good people, not just good cadets that can follow instruction. Virginia Tech is special because it provides the structure of a military environment with the social aspects of a greater university. However, unlike a regular university, we provide additional academic resources, study hours, and structure to help students find their way into productive habits, and groups of people that share similar like-minded wants to improve. What really makes this place special to me is the people.