Hokie ClubExcellence, leadership, honor and commitment are at the heart of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. An indelible part of the university and the community through the years, Corps of Cadets members have been the leaders of this great university since its inception.
Sarah Joy Mitchell was a member of the Corps and graduated in 2017. She immediately joined the United States Navy as an ensign. On July 8, 2018, Ensign Mitchell was killed during a small boat training accident in the Red Sea while assigned to the destroyer USS Jason Dunham.
Beginning this season, the Virginia Tech women's golf team honored Mitchell and her memory in a most special way. Before each tournament, the members of the team vote on a player to carry a panel with Mitchell's name on that particular golfer's golf bag. This is not just ceremonial, but goes with the goal of achieving excellence, leadership, honor and commitment in all phases of life and carry on not just Mitchell's name, but also the true meaning and spirit of both the Corps of Cadets and the university's motto, Ut Prosim ("That I May Serve").
On Nov. 9, 2018, Mitchell had her name engraved on the Ut Prosim Pylon during a ceremony at the War Memorial on the Virginia Tech campus. She became the 432nd name and the first woman added to the Pylons.
Tech senior Jessica Spicer became the first Hokie to receive the honor of carrying the panel on her bag. To have that panel on her bag in the season-opening tournament in Minnesota had great meaning to her, and she understood the responsibility of carrying it with honor and pride. Spicer teammates voted her to carry the honor once again this weekend at The Landfall Tradition.
"I think it really added something special, having her name on my bag that whole week," Spicer said. "You can't help but look at it and see it and think about what it really means. Just gain a better perspective that it's just golf, and we are just really privileged to do it. I think that was really awesome for me and just to have my teammates choose me for that honor really meant a lot. Just to know they felt like I carried myself in the ways that were representative of what that bag means really meant a lot to me and felt really good."
Spicer played well at the Minnesota Invitational, and the next tournament, the honor went to junior Emily Mahar. Mahar gave the honor even more importance, as she picked up her first collegiate victory by winning medalist honors at the Princess Anne Invitational in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Behind her and others, the Hokies were co-champions of the tournament – the program's first tournament title.
"It was really special to know my team sees, in me, the qualities that we've talked about in a person who should carry the bag," Mahar said. "It's always nice to have a reassurance that you've been the leader that people see you as.
"It was really cool to have something else to play for. We talked last year about not just playing golf to play, but to have a deeper meaning for it. Every shot I had, every time I looked at my bag, Sarah's name was on the bag, and it just kept reminding me that we're pretty lucky out here to keep playing golf. We spent four days in Virginia Beach playing golf, and that was the only reason we were out there. It just put more things into perspective and made you appreciate the moment more."
The idea behind the honor came from the coaching staff and Mitchell's mother, Betsy. Taking the lead from a program set forth by the Women's Golf Coaches Association, the Hokies staff put this honor into practice at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
"It's called the Folds of Honor, that our women's golf coaches association does throughout the organization," Tech head coach Carol Robertson said. " Some programs do it, some don't. Russell [Abbott, assistant coach for the Hokies] said 'Why don't we do that next year?', and I said, 'Great, run with it.' As he was looking, he contacted the Folds of Honor. Somehow, those two paths crossed. Maybe it just became even more real to know that she's been on our campus, she's eaten in the same dining halls as our kids, and gone to the same classrooms. From there, it just became super personal and something that I think the girls would truly appreciate."
The honor took its truest meaning when Betsy Mitchell skyped a conversation with the team before the season began. Her spirit and humanity rang true with the team and gave them a deeper understanding of whom this honor reflects and what this honor truly means.
"It was laughter through tears," Robertson said. "She's such a good storyteller. There are some extremely justifiably sad moments that come over her when she talks about her daughter, but in the next breath, she'll tell the funniest story about some things that she's done and so it was really good for us to sit and watch how genuine and real it is. Here's this girl's mom telling us about her. She's been to football games, she's watched her, and sat in the stands with the cadets. It was just, 'I'm there. I'm doing all these things, and here's this girl and her mom who have experienced the same things I have. She's no longer here, but I get to carry her name. I should exude these qualities throughout the season.'"
The leaders on this team are making sure that this honor resonates throughout the program. It is special, and it needs to remain special to everyone associated with the program.
"Before we voted for the first time, for Jess to carry the bag, we all talked about what we believe someone who carries the bag should uphold," Mahar said. "We have a list of qualities that we all came up with, and obviously everyone knows what they are. I think for the freshmen and sophomores even, just to really keep in mind when they do vote for a player that the player they vote for does hold those qualities, and if one of the freshmen is chosen, then they do also carry that responsibility to keep acting that way and to keep being that type of person. So, I don't think it's necessarily that I have to sit them down to talk about it. I think we already know it. Everyone knows it. They just need to be reminded about it."
"I think Coach reminds us every time we are voting on it not to take this lightly," Spicer added. "It's a big honor to be able to carry it, and we want to choose someone who deserves it. I think all of us have a really good understanding of what it means and are really respectful of that honor."
Each tournament, we will let you know who holds the honor. Also, we have added some links below that will allow readers to better understand Sarah Joy Mitchell and the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets.
Sarah Joy Mitchell
Task and Purpose article
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets