This article explains what will happen to your Gmail account when you leave or retire from Virginia Tech.
You will not have access to your Gmail account once you are no longer affiliated with Virginia Tech unless you are an alum.
If your only affiliation is employee (not alumni) then you lose access to Gmail once you are no longer affiliated with the university. For W2 and other business concerns, your access to Gmail will last for 18 months after loss of affiliation. You will receive several emails before your account expires. It is your responsibility to ensure that any emails are forwarded to a personal account of your choosing.
If you are, or become, a retiree, however, then you will continue to have access to an email through Exchange Online. Incoming mail is automatically routed to this account once your affiliation changes. Existing mail is NOT moved AND the account mailbox will be deleted, so please make arrangements ahead of time if you wish to keep any correspondence from your Gmail account, if applicable. If you were forwarding your Exchange Online email account to your Gmail account, then you will need to disable that forwarding.