As the war wound down in his native Croatia, Stanislav Licul (electrical engineering '99, M.S. '01, Ph.D. '04) arrived in the U.S. as a student in a high-school exchange program. "I didn't know [that the war was ending] at the time, so it played a part in my leaving home. But I came to the United States to experience something new and different and to have opportunities I might not have had back home," says Licul.

Licul is now president and CEO of Maxtena, a Blacksburg-based company he founded in 2006 to develop and produce antennas and antenna systems that are used to communicate with satellites. "In a start-up company where everything is new and undefined, it's all about understanding your strengths and weaknesses and finding the position that feels comfortable and right--where do you best fit in; what is the best use of what you have to offer?" he says.

Licul credits his days at Virginia Tech with teaching him lessons that have been crucial in his business. "Balancing both academic and athletic careers, I learned valuable lessons about leadership, pressure, and time management," says Licul, who played varsity soccer for the Hokies.

"Playing on the soccer team and being an engineering student was a tough combination. It taught me to work hard," Licul says. "I hold myself to high expectations, and then I try to exceed them."

Licul maintains this drive in his current work at Maxtena, where he is joined by several fellow alumni: Nathan Cummings (electrical engineering '98, M.S. '01, Ph.D. '03), vice president of engineering; Vanja Maric (international studies '06), sales and marketing manager; and Paul Piccione (electrical engineering '02, M.Eng. '08), senior radio frequency engineer.

During one summer break, seven Virginia Tech students--(pictured left to right, back row then front row) Janet Hoffman Szoch (management, housing, and family development '82), Joy Todd Calkins (public administration '82), Kim Way (marketing management '82), Liz Erickson Foit (communication '82), Linda Robichaud Serpe (art '82), Liza Davis (psychology '83), and Mary Upchurch Kruger (animal science '82)--rented a beach house in Ocean City, Md.

Along with their suntans, the group developed a bond that has lasted three decades. Despite living miles apart and having plenty of adult obligations, they still gather at least once a year--usually at a beach--to celebrate their extraordinary friendship.

They call themselves the Orange Hat Girls because of their tradition of wearing matching beach hats that Serpe bought for the group before their 2005 gathering.

"I couldn't find seven in any other color, but over the years orange has come to symbolize the bond of our friendship, which began at Virginia Tech," says Serpe, of Virginia Beach, Va. "We'll be friends for life."

Davis says that even when she lived in California she made it a priority to reunite on special occasions like weddings. Since she moved to Cary, N.C., getting together has been a bit easier.

"These women have been such a wonderful part of my life," Davis says. "I feel very fortunate."

Kruger, of Olney, Md., says the group has celebrated multiple marriages and the births of 19 children but also has offered consolation though divorces, illness, and tragedy.

"I tell my daughters, ‘Know who your real friends are, people that stick with you in good times and bad, people you can count on,"' says Kruger, a mother of two. "I always use this group of women as an example."