Marguerite Harper Scott's story is a key milestone

Marguerite Harper Scott was one of the first Black women to enroll at Virginia Tech.

Her place in history is well established and well known. Her contributions to the Virginia Tech community and beyond are immeasurable.

But in the fall of 1966, she was miserable.

“I would call home and say, ‘Please come and get me,’” she recalled during a recent interview. “My father and mother told me not to call any more, no more long distance calls, and that they would not make this trip until June. I was stuck.”

Her first football game, she was horrified when the Highty Tighties and the cheerleaders marched out with the largest Confederate flag she’d ever seen. The game was televised. Her mother saw and called, telling her she could come home to Virginia Beach.

But she didn’t.

“The more people who didn't want me there, the more I wanted to be there,” she said. “There was this fight in me. I’m not going to let these people get me down.”

Harper joined the student senate and pushed for change. Through the work of her and others, displaying the Confederate flag ended, as did the playing of Dixie at football games.

She graduated in 1970 from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and became a teacher. Now retired, she has taught and inspired generations of students for almost 40 years.

Harper Scott is among the 14,453 Hokies who are Cornerstone Alumni. Learn more about this group of passionate Hokies who represent our foundation.

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Last fall Harper Scott returned to campus for her 50th Reunion and induction into Cornerstone Alumni. She is currently a member of the Cornerstone Advisory Board. Cornerstone Alumni are Virginia Tech’s most passionate and respected alumni who have served as the foundation of the university for more than 50 years.

“I will say having to go through what I did made me a very resilient person. It helped me focus on what I wanted to do in life, which was to teach others,” she said. “In my own way, I fought for social justice reform.”

Today, Harper is among the more than 111,000 living female alumnae and her story is a key milestone as Virginia Tech marks its sesquicentennial.

This year is both the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding and the 100th anniversary of women students at Virginia Tech.

But the enrollment of Harper and the five other Black female students in the fall of 1966 didn’t happen until 45 years after women were first admitted. She was one of six Black female students among almost 10,000 white men.

VT Stories: The First African American Women at Tech

VT Stories · 1st Af Am Women Females

Her story has been chronicled throughout Virginia Tech history, inspired countless Hokies, and is a symbol for change and progress.

However, it wasn’t until a trip to campus 26 years ago that Harper Scott realized the significance of her place in history.

She did not come back to Virginia Tech often. Her first real trip was in 1996 to mark the 75th anniversary of women at the university.

“That’s when I first realized that I had made some history – and that’s honestly the truth,” she said. “I knew we were the first girls, but it didn't mean anything. That put my life into perspective. Maybe I did make a difference and change some minds and hearts of people. I hope I still do.”