Cadet Kian Zandipour will travel with the Hokies to receive the flags at Saturday’s football game at Louisville. 

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Virginia Tech football team continue their proud partnership to highlight the colors during the pre-game ceremony at every football game. 

Three football players, chosen because of their performance in the last game or at practice, carry the American flag, the state flag, and the team’s spirit flag and lead the team onto the field. They deliver the flags to cadets at the south end of the field.  

The cadets, also selected based on their performance in the corps, render honor to the flags and carry them off the field. At home games three first-year cadets are selected, and one or two upper-class cadets travel with the team and receive the flags at away games.  

Zandipour is a senior in the corps’ Citizen-Leader Track majoring in criminology in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. In his role as physical training instructor, he brings a positive attitude and excels as a mentor for cadets. With his contagious, can-do attitude, he engages his cadets in self-improvement and sets an excellent example for energetic leadership. 

The Citizen-Leader Track is designed to develop leadership skills in cadets for employment upon graduation in the public and private sectors, industry, nonprofit organizations, and other civilian or government positions.