As May arrives, students are making last minute decisions on colleges and their majors. Some are still unsure about what their future will hold, but senior Trey Dallas has it all planned out. At the end of this summer, he will be trading his Trojan attire for Moe the Kangaroo, traveling out of Dry Fork, and heading to Lexington, Virginia.

Dallas has decided on Virginia Military Institution for the upcoming fall.

“I decided on VMI because it poses a physical, emotional, and academic challenge not offered by a traditional school,” he said.

To get accepted, Dallas had to go through the usual academic application along with a physical exam and health background check. He recalled his feelings as “ecstatic” when he received the news that he would be a member of VMI’s class of 2020.

“I knew that I was definitely in for an experience,” he said.

Dallas owes much of his success to his time in JROTC. Since sophomore year, he has been involved with it and has led Tunstall’s drill team to numerous victories along with helping to rebuild the Raider Challenge team.

He will finish in the top one percent of all cadets, which he believes is one of the main reasons for his acceptance to VMI.

After graduating from VMI, Dallas has a guaranteed commission into the army as an officer thanks to his Army ROTC scholarship. He wants to go back to school after military service for a Juris Doctorate degree. With that, he hopes to own a law firm or become a professor.

On embarking on the new chapter of college, Dallas said, “I look forward to a change in pace. The institute will be tough, but worth it.”

As the school’s website puts it, “VMI is not for everyone.  This is no ordinary college. But then, who wants to be ordinary?”