2024
On May 4, 2024, Representative Nancy Mace stood behind the podium in McAlister Field House in academic regalia as the commencement speaker for The Citadel Corps of Cadets Class of 2024, a proud reflection of the cadet who made history when she walked across the stage in 1999. Seated directly in front of her were 471 young cadets in their full-dress uniforms, poised to graduate and make their mark upon the world, and among them, 57 women.
“The Citadel offered me something no one else could when it opened its doors to women,” said Mace of her journey on the road less traveled. “It offered me a place to face an obstacle unlike any other, to face a challenge I had never seen before, where I could learn not just to survive, but I could learn to thrive.
In the 25 years since Mace earned her diploma, women have become a mainstay at the military college. Today, the future bodes well for the young women who now follow her.
Like Mace, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mary Thornton, who graduated in 2005, credits The Citadel for her success and confidence. “You go from here, being one of the few females, then to a male- dominated branch,” said Thornton, an Army air artillery officer, during a panel earlier this spring celebrating the 25th anniversary of female graduates from the Corps of Cadets. “There weren’t many women I had to look up to, so I am very comfortable being the only woman in the room and owning it.”
In the years since Mace and Thornton and other trailblazers matriculated, the college has undergone an important culture shift, with women integrated and playing a critical role in the Corps of Cadets. In the spring of this year, 272, or 13%, of the 2,104-member Corps of Cadets were women. Of those women, 21% were athletes participating in NCAA sports. In 1997, a year after Mace matriculated, Cadet Mandy Garcia, ’01, a cross country and track runner, became the first woman to earn an athletic scholarship. Since then, women’s varsity sports have grown to include cross country, golf, rifle, soccer, track and field, and volleyball. In 2021, the volleyball team made college history when it became the first women’s team sport to win a Southern Conference title. The team won the title again in 2023. In addition to varsity sports, there are also women- only basketball and rugby club sports, and there are more than 20 co-educational club sports and intramurals that women can participate in, including pistol, fencing and ice hockey.
Female cadets also play an important role in the leadership of the Corps, with 45% of female cadets holding rank. Garcia made history a second time in 2000, when she became the second- ranking cadet leader as the first female regimental executive officer. In 2018, Cadet Sarah Zorn became the first female cadet to hold the top position in the Corps, regimental commander. Three years later, she was succeeded by Cadet Kathryn Christmas. Both Zorn and Christmas are among the more than 30% of cadets who annually accept a commission in the armed services. Zorn is currently a captain in the Army serving as a HIMARS platoon leader, and Christmas, a second lieutenant, is a T-38C Talon pilot in the Air Force.
When students return in the fall of 2024, five of the top 11 cadet leaders will be female, including the deputy regimental commander, two of the five battalion commanders and the senior-ranking junior-year cadet.
“I am impressed by our female students,” said Deirdre Ragan, Ph.D., an associate professor and Honors Program. “I see them in the Honors Program and in our mechanical engineering programs. They are doing what they are doing because it is what they want to be doing; they don’t spend a lot of time focusing on the fact that they are in a minority or that there are occasionally some attitudes and stereotypes that they have to overcome.”
Women, in fact, make up about 25% of the Honors Program, and, on average, they academically out-perform male cadets. In the fall, female cadets boasted a 3.22 GPA, while male cadets averaged 3.11. This year at commencement, Caroline Weeren, a member of the Honors Program and a mechanical engineering major, was named the David Shingler Spell Second Honor Graduate for her academic accomplishments. Weeren, a four-year Air Force ROTC scholarship student, a member of The Citadel women’s soccer team and a human affairs officer, exhibits the mix of success female cadets achieve at The Citadel— academics, military, athletic and leadership.
Their success, in part, is due to the extensive support network they have at The Citadel.
There are four clubs on campus exclusive to women. The Society of Women Engineers and Women in Cyber Security are academic clubs, while Women’s Discipleship is a religious activity sponsored by the Chaplain’s Office. The Circle of Women is a networking and leadership-building organization sponsored by the Career Center. There are also support groups within individual companies and battalions.
Women like Mace have seen more obvious changes for women at The Citadel in the last 25 years. One of the initial obstacles to recruiting women was the hair standard. At matriculation, women were required to get a pixie-style haircut, which they could then grow into a bob, but the hair could not touch the collar.
As she described an age-old internal debate that most freshmen experience over whether to leave or stay, Laura Hewston, ’07, shared that her hair played a small part in her decision not to leave The Citadel. “I somehow had this realization that, you know what? I’m going to do this. I’m going to finish this out, I’m going to do it,” said Hewston. “And another thing was, I don’t think anyone would have understood my haircut. And then if I had to explain to people why I cut my hair like this, I’d have to say that I quit, and I’m not a quitter.”
In 2018, the hair standard changed to match that of the Department of Defense. Female cadets are no longer required to have their hair cut. They can wear it short, medium length but not touching the collar, or they can choose to keep it long. Long hair must be worn in a bun while in uniform, except when wearing the camouflage uniform, when it may be worn in a single braid or a braided ponytail. Today, women are also allowed to have modest manicures and wear jewelry, and upper-class women are authorized to wear conservative makeup.
While the evolution in grooming standards is a plus for the young women who enter Lesesne Gate, the attraction of The Citadel for them is the same as it is for men—they are looking for a challenging academic and military environment that they won’t get at a traditional college.
As Mace noted in her remarks, the women who choose The Citadel are choosing a path of discipline and leadership that was cut by many others over the last quarter century.
“I want to take a brief moment this morning and talk to the female cadets who are graduating today, years ago, I made history as one. When you cross this stage, it might feel like a quick walk. But it’s not. It’s a long path that took over 150 years to forge. You’ll be following in the footsteps of thousands of men and 800 women who came before you,” said Mace. “And as the saying goes, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ So when you get to where you’re going, turn around and help the next woman behind you find her way.”
Mace looked out from the podium, perhaps thinking of her own commencement in 1999, stage. The Citadel has undoubtedly changed in many ways in the last 25 years, yet it has held fast in the ways that are important. The concepts of honor, duty and respect remain the bedrock of a Citadel education. That was the case in 1842 and in 1999, and it remains the same today for men and women alike.
(Ed Wray/The Citadel)