Triathlon:  Cadets Brian Trainor ‘13 and Dylan Morgan ’16 represented West Point in the Junior Elite Male Cup and the Under 25 Elite Development Race at the East Coast Elite Triathlon Festival. Trainor finished 10th in the Under 25 Developmental race while Morgan finished 12th in the Junior Elite race and qualified for the Junior Elite National Championships. Cadets Kelly Kingma ’14, Catherine Sedy ’16, and Christian Ryan ’14travelled to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands to compete in the St. Croix 70.3 (Half-Ironman) Triathlon and brought home the 1st Place Team trophy.  Summary of Awards earned: 1st Place Team: West Point Triathlon; 1st Place Female (18-24): Kelly Kingma; 2nd Place Female (18-24): Catherine Sedy; 3rd Place Male (18-24): Christian Ryan; 2013 Ironman World Championship Qualifier: Kelly Kingma; 2013 Ironman 70.3 World Championship Qualifiers: Kelly Kingma, Catherine Sedy, Christian Ryan.

Crew Team:  The Team journeyed to Whitney Point to compete in the annual New York State Championship Regatta.  Racing against 35 other New York colleges, the Army placed fourth for the overall team points trophy.  The Novice Men’s Eight finished 1st, beating the 2nd place team by a significant margin of 15 seconds. The Novice Women’s Eight made it through the heats and into the finals and finished 6th. The Men’s Varsity Eight advanced to the Grand Finals and ultimately placed 5th.

Marathon Team:  The Marathon Team performed superbly this past weekend at the New Jersey Marathon and Long Branch Half-Marathon. Cadets Marc Samland, Rachel Phillips, and Rex Sheikh set personal records and qualified for the 2014 Boston Marathon. Cadet Johannes Olind finished #8 overall in the half-marathon with a time of 1:18:59 just two weeks after running Boston Marathon. 

Foreign Language and Culture Forum (Korean-American Relations):  Cadets from the Korean-Relations (KARS) arrived in NYC and met with four Old Grads of the years ranging ’91 to ’04. Cadets dined and engaged about West Point and the past/present state of the Corps of Cadets. They received guidance from the Old Grads about their career opportunities and what life is like outside of the Army.

American Society of Civil Engineers Upstate New York 2013 Student Competition: The West Point Student Chapter of the ASCE attended the annual Upstate New York Student Competition.  The competition consisted of several events, including the Mead Paper Presentation, the Steel Bridge Competition, and the Concrete Canoe Competition. Other competing universities included Clarkson University, Cornell University, Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Hudson Valley Community College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, the State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo, SUNY Canton and Syracuse University. 

The topic of this year’s Mead Paper Presentationwas “Body of Knowledge – Is it Ethical to Associate Credentials with Competency.”  Cadets Joseph Speight and Mark Owens represented West Point by giving presentations on ethics in engineering. Both cadets provided insightful yet different perspectives but in the end, Cadet Joseph Speight took home 1st Place in the Essay Competition. 

The Steel Bridge Teamconsisted of Team Captain Seth Bell and Team Members Trevor Knowles, Kyle Kilroy, Rich Austring, Chalermpat Pariya-Ekkasut and Joseph Speight. Tasked with designing an all-steel bridge, the West Point Steel Bridge Team designed and manufactured each piece for constructability and performance in mind. The team was able to construct the bridge in less than 30 minutes under numerous constraints, including limitations on freedom of movement in order to represent building the bridge over a river.

The Concrete Canoe teamconsisted of Team Captain James McLoughlin and Team Members Mark Owens, Aaron Schares, and Alexander Pinigis.  Their final product, a lightweight concrete canoe named “River Rat”, was nothing short of phenomenal.

CE400 Seminar: Mr. Peter Coote, PE, Esq, and USMA 83, presented a seminar on engineering and the law. He emphasized the contribution of the engineering profession to society, stressed importance of ethical behavior, and explained the standard of care.

EP394 Shakespeare - As You Like It:  Cadets enrolled in EP394 Shakespeare performed the Bard‘s comedy As You Like It as part of DEP’s Projects Day activities. Cadets studied and adapted the text, provided a soundtrack, and made a variety of staging and interpretive decisions throughout rehearsals. Every cadet in the class contributed to the success of the performance, with Cadets Liam Phillips and Alix Efaw playing the demanding lead roles of Rosalind and Orlando.

Network Science Excellence Award:  Each year, the NSC presents the Network Science Excellence Award to NSC cadets who work diligently on network science related projects.  There were four winners, two of which were tied for second place.  1st Place: “Leveraging Host Protein Network Topology to Identify Cancer-Causing Pathogens”, Cadet Joseph Hannigan; 2nd place (two-way tie): “Identifying and Isolating Influential Subgroups in Social Media Networks”, Cadet Jeffery Nielson; and” Effective Measures for Predicting Spread in SIS Models”, Cadet Robert Delany; Honorable Mention: “Identifying Sets of Epidemic Spreaders in Complex Networks”, Cadet Geoffrey Moores.   

Department of Energy Excellence in Energy Award:   The USCC Energy and Environmental (E2O) Cadet Chain of Command presented the inaugural Department of Energy (DOE) Excellence in Energy award to the Cadets of Lee Barracks.  Cadets Christopher Boldt and Kiley Hunkler represented 1st Regiment in receiving the award in recognition of reducing their barracks energy consumption by over 10% during Term 13-1. Dr. Unruh, the Program Manager of the Federal Energy Management Program, represented DOE during the presentation of the award.

Brigade Swap Meet:  The D/G&EnE led Energy & Environmental Chain of Command conducted the second annual swap meet on Project‘s Day. Cadets from across the Corps brought and swapped hundreds of uniform items, civilian clothing, books, and shoes. The Swap Meet was a resounding success and all remaining non-uniform items were recycled or donated to Good Will.

DP&NE Projects Day:  The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering hosted Projects Day and nineteen cadets presented 22 projects resulting from Nuclear Engineering capstone design and individual research.  Demonstrations of the operational High Energy Laser system and the Pelletron Accelerator caused a great deal of interest. Cadets Jordan Smith '13 and Daniel Blaine '15 received the best individual research presentation award from the Department.

AIChE Club Success:  The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Cadet Club received a $500 check from the New York Metro Section of the AIChE for a winning proposal for an Army Strong contingent of 40 AIChE Club Chemical Engineering majors, members of the CH362 course, and faculty to travel to the Newburgh Brewing Company to observe industrial scale science and engineering in action. This trip is tied directly into the CH362 objectives and supports chemical engineering goals, and believe it or not, no alcohol was consumed on this trip.

Metropolitan Museum of Art:  Cadets in EN302 Advanced Composition, EP360 Eastern Art, and EP390 Reading the Frontier, teamed up to spend the day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. 

British Literature Forum:  The Department of English and Philosophy hosted a joint USMA-Fordham University British Literature Forum.  The forum, organized into four 90-minute panels featuring cadet and student scholarship, addressed a wide range of themes, contexts, and narratives central to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century British and Anglophile literary tradition. Art, Philosophy, and Literature majors included Cadets Ellen Chamberlin, Tim Dore, Alix Efaw, David Faust, Jeff Ferebee, Cait Gamble, Tyler Lamb, Emily McCarthy, Oliver Matheson, and Daniel Zaleski.

Academy Idol Competition:  On Projects Day, DEP hosted the third annual Academy Idol competition. Nine plebes currently enrolled in EN102, having been selected as the best performers in the class of 2016, performed monologues from plays by Shakespeare and Sophocles. Cadet Joseph Burr was named this year‘s “Academy Idol” for his stirring performance as King Lear. Cadets Geoffrey Davis and Raoul Valencia received prizes for second and third place for their portrayals of Titus (from Shakespeare‘s Titus Andronicus) and Oedipus (from Sophocles‘Oedipus Rex), respectively. The monologue competition was followed by a choral competition in which groups of EN102 students recited choral speeches from Greek tragedies.

APL Majors Senior Thesis Projects:  Six Art, Philosophy, and Literature majors who have completed the senior thesis project presented a summary of their work in front of an audience of fellow cadets, faculty, and friends. The Literature track cadets--Cadets Eileen Deegan, Emily McCarthy, and Marshall Moten—participated in a panel discussion similar to the format used at many academic conferences. The Philosophy track cadets—Cadets Patrick Benevento, Eric Brauninger, and Stephanie Wangeman--made individual presentations. Both sets of presentations were followed by a question and answer period. The senior thesis represents a year‘s work under the tutelage of a senior Department faculty member and typically results in a 35-50 page monograph on a subject of important critical debate within the literary or philosophical fields. 

Distinguished Lecture Series:  Mr. Tom Deierlein (USMA ‘89), CEO of ThunderCat Technologies visited West Point to speak to cadets as part of ‘83 DLS. During his visit he had office calls with Department leadership, dined in the cadet mess hall, and discussed values-based leadership and leading through adversity with 40 BS&L majors and cadets. The ‘83 DLS is a core component of the West Point Leadership Center, aiming to advance the study and practice of leadership at the Academy through meaningful engagement with influential leaders from all sectors

Cadet Academic Recognition:  Cadets Katie Wacker ‘14 and Jozlyn McCaw ‘14, and Cadet Victoria Emerson ’13 were inducted into Alpha Phi of New York, the USMA Chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Sociological Honor Society.

The Army's future leaders have visited members of the Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command to discuss tomorrow's technology with today's experts.

From the Athletic Director’s Update, The softball team captured the Patriot League Championship with two shutout wins over top-seeded Lehigh.  After defeating Bucknell in the opening game, the softball team was sent to the loser’s bracket with a loss versus Lehigh.  Another win against Bucknell in an elimination game sent the team to the championship round to face the Mountain Hawks.  Morgan Lashley threw back-to-back shutouts, allowing only a total of three hits in the two games to earn tournament MVP honors.  The team earned its first NCAA berth since 2002 and will head to Austin to face No. 4 Texas.  Friday night’s game can be seen live on the Longhorn Network. 

The baseball team will play for the Patriot League title for the third straight season after taking out Navy in two straight games in Annapolis last Saturday.  Chris Rowley set the tone with a complete game in a 4-2 game one victory.  Patrick Mescher provided the big hit in the series-clinching 7-3 win with a two-RBI single that broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning.  The Black Knights will head to top-seeded Holy Cross for the best-of-three championship series beginning with a doubleheader on Sunday.  Not only did the two victories against Navy keep the baseball team’s season alive, it also wrapped up the year’s series with the Mids.  We finished the year even with a 16-16-1 record, including a 7-6 mark in the spring.  Adding in the record versus Air Force, we boasted a 20-18-2 record versus our fellow academies this season.

The track & field team earned some academic recognition this week with the announcement that Scott Geary was named to the Academic All-Patriot League team.  Scott was one of 10 members of the team which honors both athletic and academic performance.

G&EnE Projects Day:  G&EnE showcased the work of the Class of 2013 majors during Projects Day. Cadets displayed twenty-four posters in topics such as “Present and Future Spatial Distribution of Collisions in the Newburgh-Middletown Urban Area” (Cadets Benton Beltramo and Michael Williams),  “The Aboriginal People of Taiwan: Maintaining the Culture through Radical Indigenism” (Cadet Alicia Dotson), “Solar Powered Chicken Coop in Rural Uganda” (Cadet Susan Kiernan), and “Wind Sock Representativeness and Terrain Effects: Fort Putnam and the North Dock Area” (EV387 Students). Cadets Justen Anka, Andrew Colvin, Matt Fitzgerald, and Lisa Kim presented their design project, “Composting on FOBs with Waste Shipping Containers,” along with a 3-D model, to judges for the Scott R. Clark Innovation for Soldiers Award. Additionally, two project teams from EV490, Advanced Environmental Engineering Design, met with the intellectual capital team from ARDEC (Picatinny Arsenal) and were invited to apply for patents.

MG390 Negotiation Simulation Exercise:  Cadets enrolled in the BS&L course, “Negotiation for Leaders” (MG390) executed a negotiation simulation exercise on Constitution Island. Cadets were provided scenario information and prepared in advance. They were then evaluated in the conduct of bi-lateral and multi-lateral negotiations, which they conducted with role-players and with other cadets. 

Dirtman Water Challenge:   Cadets enrolled in EV401 (Physical and Chemical Treatment) competed in the annual DIRTMAN Water Challenge.  Cadets applied their knowledge of processes commonly used in drinking water treatment to construct a small-scale treatment system.  Each team of cadets was able to convert effluent from the Target Hill Waste Water Treatment Plant to meet US EPA Drinking Water Standards.

Brooklyn Environmental Remediation Site:   Cadets enrolled in EV488 (Solid and Hazardous Waste Management) travelled to Brooklyn, NY to visit an ExxonMobil remediation site near Newtown Creek (a "superfund" site).  The cadets were able to view a full scale remediation design that targets a large subsurface petroleum spill.

Bruce B. O’Neill Class of 1982 Memorial Cadet Orienteering Award:  The Bruce B. O’Neill Award is presented each year to a cadet on the West Point Orienteering Team who demonstrates excellence in leadership and orienteering skills.  This year’s winner is the Team Captain, Cadet Andrew Eck ‘13, Company F1. Cadet Eck placed 3rd at this year’s intercollegiate championships.

Camp Bucker Water Treatment Plant:  Cadets enrolled in EV401 (Physical and Chemical Processes) conducted a lab at the Camp Buckner Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to complete a field survey of a water treatment “package plant.”

Orienteering Team Awarded at DCA Clubs Night:  The Orienteering team was honored for earning the highest Competitive Club team average for both Academic Performance (team average 3.55) and Military Performance (team average of 3.41).

Scott Clark Award for Innovation:  The Diagnostics on Demand engineering team lead by Cadets Christopher Wallace ‘13, Life Science, and Erik Hunstad ‘13, Computer Science, won the 2013 Clark Innovation for Soldiers Award at Projects Day. The award project was required to “demonstrate an innovative approach to solving a problem of direct application to the Army. [The award is designed] to encourage cadets to demonstrate for soldiers innovations which can benefit soldiers.” The cadet team designed and built a prototype device to assess the presence of metabolic disorders and infectious disease biomarkers in the biological samples from soldiers in the field. This device may lead to on-the-spot diagnosis of conditions affecting deployed soldiers in remote areas who don’t have access to physicians or advanced hospital care facilities. The goal of the team is to provide a robust, hand-held tool for small unit leaders to improve the health care support to their soldiers and the combat effectiveness of their unit.

Glee Club: The West Point Glee Club presents its Graduation Concert on Tuesday evening, May 21st at 7:30 p.m. in Eisenhower Hall Theatre. The annual concert is a highlight of USMA Graduation Week, offering a rare opportunity for the public to hear the renowned college choir perform in concert “at home”. The concert will feature contemporary choral selections as well as military, patriotic and West Point songs. Tickets are not required for this free concert.

Crew Team:  The Crew Team competed on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, PA. The team’s final race of the regular season, the annual Dad Vail Regatta draws crews from across the nation and even some from Canada. This year, teams from more than 130 different schools raced the 2000 meter course. There was tough competition, however, the Army team fought hard, with several of its boats making it as far as the grand final. The Novice Men’s Team had a successful weekend. Both of its boats make it to the grand finals, its four placing 6th behind several top notch schools. The eight team came in 4th behind the rowing powerhouse Drexel, Virginia, and Michigan. The Men’s Varsity Eight also rowed hard and advanced to the semi-finals, rounding out their season with a 5th place finish.

Alcohol Awareness:Cadets Andrew Laib and Luke Kramer, with guidance from the Commandant, BTD, Cadet Hostess, and DCA, organized a pilot program “Know Limits: 21st Birthday Training” for alcohol awareness. Cadets were given alcoholic beverages over a meal, and then underwent field sobriety and breathalyzer testing to better understand the effects of alcohol.

All Graduation information can be found on the Parent Information page at westpoint.edu.

Graduation Frequently Asked Questions - Class of 2013 - Updated May 16. 2013
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Cadet Drew Long '13 is among 13 future Medical Corps officers who will be attending medical school following graduation from the U.S. Military Academy on May 25. Having achieved the highest grade point average among them, he was presented with the 2013 Richard M. Mason Memorial Award by Col. Felicia F. Pehrson, commander of Keller Army Community Hospital May 21. 

The Life Science major was accompanied by his family -- father, Jeff; mother, Nancy; and brother, Air Force Capt. Brit Long. He was also joined by 10 other classmates as they were welcomed into the Army Medical Corps and received their Army Medical Regimental Crest. Pehrson spoke to them about the passion of Army physicians and how they can affect the lives of so many people in their profession.

"May you never lose your drive and passion to be a healer, and I want to congratulate you and wish you the best in your careers," she said.

Pehrson spent a little time with the Long family before the presentation and congratulated the cadet on graduating with a 4.1 GPA. 

"This is a challenging school with a very challenging program, and it speaks volumes that you did so well," she said. "That's what medical schools look for. They don't just want brains--they're looking for people with character and West Point clearly graduates students who've developed that and tend to be well-rounded."

The award Long earned is named after the 1968 USMA graduate and highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who left the service to pursue a career in medicine. Mason died of cancer in 1977 at the age of 30 and his parents founded the award in his honor.

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Duston Saunders ’72, Coach of the USMA Pistol Team, has been asked by the Team USA Delegation to coach the USA Pistol Team at the 2013 World University Games.  He will be allowed to have 7 men and 4 women on the team and will be taking Cadets Michael Cheney '13, Shane Greene '14, Heather Deppe '13, Victoria Joye '13, and Melody Yap '15.  Additionally, he will take one collegiate pistol shooter from Navy, The Citadel, The Ohio State University, North Dakota State University, and University of Nebraska each.  They will be competing in Kazan, Russia from 9-17 July against pistol teams from 80+ other countries.

Last night, May 22, cadets heard screaming coming from the darkness of the Hudson River. Realizing someone was in the water, Class of 2016 Cadets Sam Mo and Daniel Bleyl, both corps squad swimmers, jumped in the river as classmate Pierre Archambeau notified emergency services. They spent 20 minutes in the river helping the two stranded kayakers tread water before a power boat, operated by Pete Hanlon, the Crew Club officer in charge, along with Cpt. David Lai, an assistant coach, arrived to assist them to shore.

On May 22, 2013 an article appeared in The New York Times regarding an incident that took place at USMA and came to the attention of Academy leaders in 2012. On May 23, the Academy Public Affairs Office issued the following statement:

Dear friends, graduates and supporters,

A Tactical Non-Commissioned Officer assigned to West Point from 2009-2012 is  involved an on-going investigation for possession of inappropriate images taken without consent.  The U.S. Army and the U.S. Military Academy take any violation of the law seriously, and are pursuing all criminal allegations.

Once discovered in 2012, the USMA leadership took action and immediately notified the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for further investigation, while simultaneously removing the individual from contact with the Corps of Cadets.  The individual was removed from West Point earlier this year.  

He has since been charged with several violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

CID Special Agents, in conjunction with appropriate counselors and support staff, notified all identified potential victims, and the Army will ensure the military justice system works through to its proper conclusion.  The Army will protect the privacy of the individuals involved as well as continue to offer
support services as required.

The Army is committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of our cadets at the
Military Academy at West Point.

LTC Webster M. Wright III
USMA PAO

********

Orienteering:  Cadets Jacob Grant '15 and  William Miller '15 have been named to the U.S. National Team to represent the United States at the Junior World Orienteering Championships at Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, Jun 16 - Jul 7.

Team Handball (Men’s): Men’s Team Handball wrapped up their season with impressive finishes at the national tournament in Reno, NV. West Point Black, competing in the Elite Division, was able to win third place. Jonathon Hunter ’13 again wowed the crowds with his lockdown defense and acrobatic finishes, his defensive spark helped propel the team past a strong Chicago team and into the semi-finals. Sean Boyle ’14 and Ian Emory ’13 were also instrumental in stopping Chicago’s potent attack. In the Firsties' last game against Los Angles, West Point was down a few goals at halftime but Craig Champlin ’13 and Andy Theising ’13 would not be denied a victory in their last game in a West Point uniform and sparked a riveting comeback to claim the bronze medal. Throughout the tournament Connor Holt ’15 and Bryan Teaton ’13 provided the offensive firepower to keep West Point in the games while Bobby Allibone’s ’13 strong defense helped keep goalie Kristian Schott ’13 out of trouble. West Point Gold, competing in the Open Division, finished in fourth place. They received strong contributions from many underclassmen; Corinth Cross ’16 and Nate Green ’15 led the offense while Alec Zeck ’16 and Christian McKenrick ’16 both helped lock down the defense in front of Keith Brittan ’16 in goal.

Chemical Engineering: The West Point Student Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Club was nominated for national recognition as the Outstanding AIChE Student Chapter for AY2013. Cadet Seamus Bann '15 was nominated as the Donald F. Othmer American Institute of Chemical Engineers National recognition award winner for being the academically top USMA sophomore chemical engineering cadet for AY2013. Cadet James Haworth ’16 was nominated as American Institute of Chemical Engineers Freshman National award winner as the most involved AIChE Student Chapter Member from his class year at USMA for AY2013.

For the first time in its 83-year history, three seniors from the same graduating class of Gloucester Catholic High School, located in Gloucester City, New Jersey, have been admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Brandon Wethman, Nick Marks, and Devin McCall were nominated earlier this school year by their local congressmen and were recently notified of their appointments.

Wethman, whose grandfathers served in World War II, and an uncle in the Korean Conflict, said he plans to major in defense and strategic studies and military history. "Defense and strategic studies is unique to West Point and has a lot to do with international relations," he says.

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For Colt Sterk, the dream of West Point began in eighth grade. That year, he wrote an essay that won him the honor of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

"When I grasped the fact that this soldier willingly gave his life for me, a stranger, just so I can live freely, it made me want to serve my country as well," recalled Sterk, now an 18-year-old senior graduating from Eagle High.

That was the spark, and his interest in the nation's oldest military academy was enthusiastically shared by his best friend, Cyrus Cappo. Cappo's older brother, Chase, was a cadet at West Point (Class of 2012) -- and a big influence on the two boys, who met while playing Optimist football.

Chase helped coach the boys' football team before he left for the Academy. He brought home exciting stories about life at West Point and opportunities to travel and study abroad and meet members of Congress and other dignitaries.

"The more I learned about it, the more excited I got. West Point is hallowed ground," said Cyrus, rattling off legendary graduates such as Gens. MacArthur, Grant, Lee and Patton.

While in junior high, Colt and Cyrus began talking about going to West Point. Their parents thought the boys might change their minds along the way, but West Point remained No. 1 on their college lists -- even after they visited Ivy League schools such as Princeton and Cornell last summer.

"They have never wavered from this goal," said Misty Sterk, Colt's mom and a biology teacher at Eagle High.

Cadet Olind - American Chemical Society Undergraduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry:  Cadet Johannes Olind, an environmental engineering major in the class of 2013, was awarded the American Chemical Society Undergraduate Student Award in Environmental Chemistry. This award recognizes outstanding students currently enrolled in chemistry, environmental engineering, environmental science, or other programs emphasizing environmental chemistry. Johannes was selected for his interdisciplinary work related to the speciation of lead on the surface of Polonite, a mineral based sorbent.

AbilityOne Design Challenge:  The capstone team of Cadets Tom Devane, Greg Fearnley, and Justin Suh, all mechanical engineering majors in the Class of 2013, was named the third place winner ($3,000) of the 2013 AbilityOne Design Challenge sponsored by the Institute for Economic Empowerment to develop a device to assist workers with disabilities. They designed, built, and tested a work station to improve worker productivity in a stapler assembly production process. The cadets' work station reduced average stapler assembly time by disabled workers by 28%. A video demonstration of their device was submitted as part of the competition and can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ayIH5uT9MIk

HI108 Guest Lecturer:  The plebe course in international history hosted Professor David Painter, a Georgetown University professor, who lectured on an article he wrote for the Journal of American history titled “A Global History of Oil”.   Painter discussed how “oil bolstered U.S. military and economic might, and enabled the U.S. and its allies to win both World Wars and the Cold War” in a lecture that explained the global significance of the emerging oil markets to the history of the twentieth century. 

Rain, wind, and temperatures in the low 50s could not dampen nor chill the spirit of the 1,007 graduates from the Class of 2013, who got their diplomas and were commissioned as second lieutenants on Saturday. However, relatives and friends of the graduates gave Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the 2013 Graduation Speaker, a loud round of applause when he opened his remarks by saying, “I am not unaware, especially on a rainy day, that graduates and their guests prize brevity.” Hagel used his speech to remind graduates of their “awesome responsibility” to lead soldiers and told stories relating to two USMA graduates, Dwight D. Eisenhower ’15 and Robert George Keats ’65, to impart lessons of leadership. “The most important part of leadership is taking responsibility for your actions and decisions,” Hagel said. He then repeated Eisenhower’s handwritten note on the eve of D-Day in which the general assumed sole responsibility in the event that the invasion of Normandy failed. “That is accountability,” Hagel told the graduates. Hagel concluded his speech by informing the graduates about Keats, who was killed ten days after assuming command of Bravo Co. of the 2-47 9th Infantry Division, the unit in which Hagel served during the Vietnam War. A letter from Keats’s days as a cadet was read at his funeral on the ground of the West Point Cemetery. It said, “The world can only be saved by people striving for the ideal.” Hagel tied Keats’s sentiment to the Class of 2013’s motto: “Defending the Dream.” “You chose to be a soldier at a very defining time in our Nation’s history; you too are fighting for an ideal,” Hagel said, “America needs you and it is counting on you to uphold this ideal.” Good Luck Class of 2013!

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For four years, the Class of 2013 was groomed to be the new leaders of the U.S. Army. Once they leave West Point, they will begin their journey in taking over that enormous responsibility.

Business Insider recently visited West Point to talk to some young men and women who may indeed take on that role, the leaders of this year's graduating class. Meet them below:

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It has been a long road from the small village in India where her parents were born, and her life began, but immigrating to the United States of America, becoming a naturalized American citizen, and on the cusp of becoming, perhaps, the first generation Indian woman cadet at theUnited States Military Academy at West Point, in the Academy's prestigious 211-year history, is a "dream come true", for 18-year-old Sneha Singh. She is proof that hard work, discipline, a positive mental attitude, and remaining patient and focused can result in turning dreams into reality. Sneha will enter the prestigious Academy on July 1. Sneha will begin a 47-month odyssey that will culminate with a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Sneha hopes to pursue her dream of becoming a medical doctor and plans to study in a major that will prepare her for applying to medical school. 

Read more about her journey via The Times of India

The Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Award Ceremony:  Eight cadets were presented with awards during the department award ceremony.   Cadet Geoffrey K. Easterling received the Frances Hesselbein Award for excellence in servant leadership. Cadet Christopher J. Moropolous received the 2LT Spencer Dodge Award for excellence in Psychology. Cadet Marti N. Warner received the Kurkowski-Reed Award for excellence in Engineering Psychology. Cadet Jeffrey H. Kim received the National Commandery Award for excellence in Leadership and Management. Cadet Carolyn B. Fiore received the Dr. Charles H. Coates Award for excellence in Sociology. Cadet Matthew R. Feiring received the COL Jeffrey A. McNally Award for excellence in Leadership, Management, and Sociology. Cadet Kiley F. Hunkler received the Eisenhower Award for the study of Psychology and Engineering Psychology. Cadet Andrew J. Lopez received the BG Howard T. Prince II Award for excellence in Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.

Photo:  CDT Andrew J. Lopez receiving the BG Howard T. Prince II Award from BG(R) Prince during the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership Award Ceremony. 

Chemistry and Life Science Cadet Awards Ceremony:  The Department of Chemistry and Life Science conducted its annual cadet awards ceremony.  Cadet Marc Samland was recognized as the Plebe with the highest average in General Chemistry during academic year 2013.  Cadet Erin Mauldin is awarded the Daughters of the US Army Award for Excellence in General Chemistry as the member of the class of 2014 highest overall performance in General Chemistry. Cadet James Raab was awarded the Merck Index Award for Graduating with the highest academic performance in Organic Chemistry.  Cadet Raab was also awarded the American Institute of Chemists Foundation Award for Outstanding Firstie Majoring in Chemistry. Cadet Matthew Latarte was awarded the Brigadier General James H. Ramsden Award as the #2 Graduating cadet with superior academic performance in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science. Cadet Drew Long was presented with the National Organization of the American Legion Award as the #1 Graduating Cadet with superior academic performance in the Department of Chemistry and Life Science.  Cadet Dylan Russell was awarded the American Institute of Chemists Foundation Award for Outstanding Firstie Majoring in Life Science.  Cadet Joshua Dillard was awarded the American Institute of Chemists Foundation Award for Outstanding Firstie Majoring in Chemical Engineering. Cadet Daniel Godlasky received the Mid-Hudson American Chemical Society College Recognition Award for recognition in College research. Cadets Kelley Cassidy, Dylan Hanna, Daniel Godlasky and Dylan Russell represented the inaugural class of graduates from our American Chemical Society certified Chemistry degree program and were presented with a certificate of recognition. The following cadets were also recognized for their membership in the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honor Society: Aaron Brockshus, Steven Burroughs, Kelley Cassidy, Ryan Doerzbacher, Joshua Dillard, Sean Fitzgerald, Dylan Hanna, Matthew Letarte, Drew Long, Noreen Masciello, Emmanuel Perez, James Raab, Lowell Stanford, John Todd, and Christopher Wallace. 

Department Academic Award Ceremony:   The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering hosted an academic award ceremony to present the LTG Leslie R. Groves Award to Cadet Christopher Malachosky who had the highest average in nuclear engineering.

Photo:  Class of 2013 Physics Majors with Prof. Lainis and COL Naessens

Report: West Point Undergraduate Historical Review :  History major cadets under the leadership of CDT Tara Lacson, ’13, editor published the second issue of the third volume of Report: West Point Undergraduate Historical Review at the end of the semester.The Report is available at the History Department website and in print copy.