The First Woman to Lead the South Carolina Corps of Cadets at the Citadel

The Citadel: The Military College of South Carolina, admitted its first group of students in 1843. Cadets at the Citadel fired the first shots of the Civil War. The Citadel reopened for students in 1882. But it would be 113 years later before the first woman was allowed to enroll.

After a ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals calling for the school ot admit women, in August 1996, The Citadel’s Board of Visitors voted unanimously to drop the gender requirement from its admissions policy. Today, there are about 2,800 undergraduate students at The Citadel. Only 11 percent are women.

But for the 2018-19 academic year, Sarah J. Zorn will be the regimental commander of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. Zorn will be the first woman to hold the post as the highest-ranking cadet officer in the history of the Citadel.

Zorn is from Warrenville, South Carolina, and is majoring in business administration.