Dynamic NASCAR driver Jesse Iwuji to speak at Virginia Tech on Nov. 18
NASCAR driver Jesse Iwuji will bring a positive message about access, resilience, and perseverance when he speaks Nov. 18 as part of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ Cutchins Leadership Lecture Series.
Iwuji’s talk to the Corps of Cadets begins at 3:30 p.m. in Burruss Auditorium and is open to the public. Seating is available behind the cadets, who have assigned seats in the front half of the auditorium.
“We selected Jesse Iwuji because of his exciting story,” said Capt. Jamie McGrath, director of the Rice Center for Leader Development, the academic arm of the Corps of Cadets. “He’s a Naval officer turned NASCAR driver, a child of immigrants who went on to play football at the U.S. Naval Academy, a champion for underrepresented groups in NASCAR.”
One of two Black drivers regularly competing in NASCAR’s national series, Iwuji earned a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he played football and ran track and field.
He commissioned as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and deployed twice to the Arabian Gulf. He now serves in the Navy Reserves and champions companies and charities that give back to the men and women in uniform.
This summer, Iwuji announced a partnership with NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith to form a new full-time Xfinity team in 2022 known as Jesse Iwuji Motorsports. He has said his goal is to bring more diversity to NASCAR and being an owner is the most direct way to do that.
The Cutchins Leadership Lecture Series is part of the cadet Corps Lab curriculum. The series is named for the late Clifford A. Cutchins III, a former bank chairman and Virginia Tech Board of Visitors rector who received his degree in accounting in 1944 as a member of the Corps of Cadets.
