Christian Heilman spent his career in television news as a reporter and an anchor, bringing compelling stories to viewers week after week. But he says the 11-minute documentary, “25 Years of Women at VMI,” he made in 2022 as Director of Digital Content at Virginia Military Institute “might just be the most important story I’ve shared.”
The documentary opens by taking viewers back to Aug. 18, 1997, when the first cohort of 30 female cadets arrived on post in Lexington, Virginia, U.S. The prior year, after several contentious court cases, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled the state-supported senior military college’s male-only admission policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. The cadets were met that summer day with throngs of reporters from local and national news outlets vying to chronicle the story of the first young women to enter the institute since its founding in 1839.
“25 Years of Women at VMI” features historic video, photos, and news clips mixed with current images and video, along with interviews with graduates from the first cohort of women, those who were in leadership in 1997, and current cadets. It received a silver Circle of Excellence Award in the category Video: Promotional, with judges using superlatives such as “fascinating,” “powerful,” and “impressive.”
Heilman says he is most proud that the documentary doesn’t sugarcoat the story. That was affirmed when the film premiered in September 2022 at the keynote dinner during a two-day event at VMI to mark the 25th anniversary.
“So many alumni thanked us for telling their story with honesty,” says Heilman.
