They say that college is where you find lifelong friends, and this couldn’t be any more true for Angi Ackerman, Cecilia Beverine, Chiny Driscoll, and Kristan Saunders. These women are exemplary of the friendships you can find at Virginia Tech. Business majors, Class of 1991 graduates, and Delta Gamma Sorority sisters, these friends share many fond memories of their times at Virginia Tech and their Hokie spirit.
Although they grew up in very different areas, from New York all the way to South Korea, their time as Hokies created a lasting bond. This bond has continued on well after graduation. They now reside in Northern Virginia and have a “Tech Dinner Club” which is just one of many ways these friends have stayed in touch with each other and their Hokie roots.
“We’ve known each other forever obviously, but Angi, Kristan and I were roommates and also sorority sisters. And then Cecilia we met her obviously at school, but after school we worked together and obviously became friends, so we’ve been friends since college up until now. And we’ve been very blessed actually to have been able to stay so close for so long. We actually have VT dinners.”Class of 1991: Angi Ackerman, Cecilia Beverine, Chiny Driscoll, and Kristan Saunders
Most of them would agree that freshman year at Virginia Tech was a big adjustment, the Drillfield can be dangerous to traverse, and the only food to look forward to at the time was fried chicken. However, they acknowledge even the tough parts of their years in Blacksburg as being part of the college experience.
“It was just school. It was what we were used to, and everybody said yeah, you know, college food is supposed to be bad, right. But we had more…I feel like the Greeks were very prevalent at the time, so that was very central to our social life, right, and so we have lots of memories of that. But we really enjoyed Blacksburg. We really enjoyed the town and how it integrated with the campus.”Class of 1991: Angi Ackerman, Cecilia Beverine, Chiny Driscoll, and Kristan Saunders
As graduates they have all found work in different facets of business while maintaining their friendships, raising families, and being involved alumnae. They have been there for major milestones like weddings, and they can all agree that Virginia Tech was the source of these lifelong relationships. Their pride in their alma mater continues to grow each year, and they hope that prospective students won’t be discouraged by the large student body at Virginia Tech because there are plenty of opportunities to form your own group of friends.
I think the bigger factor really was that regardless of what your major was that I think Tech gave us a good foundation of learning. Actually I think this is one of the beauties of Tech is it really forces you to be a well-rounded student, a well-rounded person, and I think we’ve applied that, all of us, frankly.Class of 1991: Angi Ackerman, Cecilia Beverine, Chiny Driscoll, and Kristan Saunders
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About this Story
Date Recorded: November 11, 2016
Interviewer: Ren Harman
Date Posted: March 1, 2017
Editor: Jessica Craig