Character Development: Dave Foster (Self-Discipline)

Valley Forge Military College hosted its second Character Development Chapel Speaker Series of the 2025-26 academic year on Friday, October 10, 2025, focusing on the character trait of self-discipline.

Mr. Dave Foster, a U.S. Army veteran and the founder and CEO of BDP Impact Real Estate was the guest speaker for this month’s event.

“If you had asked me to speak on affordable housing, if you had asked me to speak about community development, or some aspects of military service, I would think that I could stand in front of you as an expert,” Mr. Foster said in his speech. “But when it comes to matters of character, I’m happy to confess I’m as much a work in progress as any and all of you. In fact, the longer I live, the more convinced I am that none of us will ever truly master it. 

“Character isn’t something that you achieve. It’s not something that you check off the list. It’s something you work on every single day. Small moments, difficult decisions, how you treat people when nobody’s watching.”

Mr. Foster received his Bachelor’s from Washington & Lee University, and his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He also earned a Certificate in Business and Public Policy from the Wharton School.

His military service includes duty as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division; a tour in Afghanistan where he served as the lead economic development officer for NATO’s counter-corruption task force in Afghanistan; and a posting at the Pentagon where he developed policy recommendations and drafted the U.S. Army manual for stability operations.

Mr. Foster has more than 15 years of social impact real estate development experience across the US and overseas. His company, BDP Impact Real Estate, is a social impact real estate investment and development company headquartered in Philadelphia with projects across the country.

In 2022, BDP worked with the non-profit Community Solutions to launch a first-of-its kind social impact equity fund to acquire $400 million dollars of housing units in 9 different U.S. cities with the goal of working towards ending veteran homelessness. In that same year, Mr. Foster was one of only 10 veterans selected as a Veteran Fellow in The Hoover Institution’s Veteran Fellowship Program (VFP), where his work was focused on scaling BDP’s social impact financing model for affordable housing.

“Self-discipline and servant leadership are inseparable,” Mr. Foster said. “You can not lead others unless you can lead yourself. Here’s the paradox. The self-discipline required for servant leadership is not about elevating yourself as the leader. It’s about lowering yourself in service to something greater.”

Mr. Foster has several connections to Valley Forge Military College. He met Chaplain Floyd White while serving as the president of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership from 2008-2014. His friend and mentor General H.R. McMaster ‘80A, is an Academy alum. He also used the anecdote of another alum Carl J. Wojtaszek, one of his close friends, in his speech on self-discipline.

Cadets from both the Academy and College took part in Friday’s ceremony, including Cadet Egor Babaev ‘26A, who read the poem ‘The Victor’ by C.W. Longnecker and related it to the theme of self-discipline.

“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later,t he man who wins is the man who thinks he can,” the poem reads.

Mr. Foster’s speech related the trait of self-discipline to the ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism as well as Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Perhaps the most powerful part of his speech was when he related the theme of self-discipline to Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor.

“That is the ultimate self-discipline,” Mr. Foster said. “Not the discipline to wake up early, stick to a diet, but the discipline to stick to an attitude when you have every reason to give up or not take the difficult path or to not have the hard conversation. It’s the moment by moment discipline to say, ‘I can not control what’s happening to me, but I can control who I am in the face of it.’”

Click here to watch his full speech.

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Character Development Chapel Speaker Series

Valley Forge Military Academy & College’s mission is to develop individuals to be fully prepared for the responsibilities and challenges of being citizen leaders. We strive to develop the whole person within an integrated academic and military environment. Valley Forge Military Academy & College produces highly focused graduates who are strong in mind, body and soul.

Since our founding in 1928 by Lt. Gen. Milton Baker, our philosophy is built upon Five Cornerstones: Academic Excellence, Character Development, Personal Motivation, Physical Development, and Leadership. We expound on one of these foundational Cornerstones through the monthly Character Development Chapel Speaker Series. Each month, the VFMAC community focuses on a specific character trait which is shared with our Corps of Cadets through communications, teachings, and activities. Through the speaker series, Cadets have the opportunity to learn from industry experts, build campus culture and institutional strength, and challenge their own insights by asking thought-provoking questions.