Widener Commissioning Cadets Among Nation’s Best
It’s no small feat to have one of the nation’s best Army cadets among your ROTC ranks.
Widener’s Dauntless Battalion has six.
Half a dozen cadets in the Class of 2026 have earned the designation of distinguished military graduate, or DMG, which recognizes cadets who finish in the top 20 percent among the thousands of Army ROTC graduates each year.
The designation considers academics, physical fitness and performance in the field, character and leadership.
Widener seniors Liam Reilly and Bradyn Erb are among the six Dauntless cadets that earned the designation this year. Three more cadets are from other higher education institutions that feed into the battalion based at Widener, while the sixth was Brendon Hardy, a Widener football player who graduated in December 2025. Hardy has since commissioned into the infantry branch.
“I know of a lot of programs that don’t have any distinguished military graduates and we had six for the entire battalion. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of these Dauntless cadets and future Army second lieutenants. We are very proud to call them our own,” said Lt. Col. William Atwell, professor of military science and head of the military science department for Dauntless.
The feat is even more notable when considering what Reilly and Erb, both cadet leaders, have had to juggle during their four years in the program.
Reilly, a finance major major, plays on the men’s lacrosse team, and his days are long – starting with 5 a.m. ROTC physical training. Some cold winter days ended at 10 p.m. following lacrosse practice at the nearby WSFS Sportsplex at the Philadelphia Union, because Widener fields were snow covered.
“When do I get to sleep?” says Reilly, with a laugh. “Time management is key. I didn’t have it in high school. But ROTC, lacrosse and my academics taught me how to manage my time. I don’t want to let my teammates down. I had to find ways to balance it.”
Erb, a mechanical engineering major, echoes Reilly’s sentiments over time management and how Widener has helped him hone that skill, especially as he was tackling his senior project – improving a bionic flapping wing mechanism that could be used for everything from monitoring bird migration to surveillance.
“Engineering is a lot of work,” said Erb, who grew up on a Berks County farm and, even as a child, loved to figure out how things worked. “In engineering, I learned a bunch of coding and that helped me understand all the processes.”
He will take those skills with him as he commissions into the cyber corps of the Army – the newest Army branch, which is responsible for intercepting transmissions, potential cyber attacks, and more.
Both Reilly and Erb were shocked but thrilled to earn the DMG designation.
“I was super excited. You don’t really know where you rank. All that hard work… it meant a lot, especially to tell my dad who has been my biggest supporter,” said Reilly, who also credits the support of his fellow cadets and battalion leadership.
“They play a vital part in me doing well,” said Reilly, who will commission into the infantry branch, with plans to go to ranger school. “There are great people here. You don’t become a great athlete, cadet, or student without this environment and the people around you.”
Both cadets were drawn to the military to serve their community and others. Named to leadership positions within the battalion, both have also refined the skills needed to be the person others look to for guidance.
“ROTC was the first time I had people below me and being able to say this is a group I’m responsible for,” said Erb. “I had to think about how to increase morale, get their buy in, get them ready.”
When asked about a highlight of their ROTC experience, both immediately recall their experience at air assault school and learning how to rappel from a Blackhawk helicopter. The rising juniors spent 10 long, physically demanding days in training.
“I carry the experiences and things I learned there through everything that I do, whether it’s a hard exam or a lacrosse game,” said Reilly.
The 6-foot, 10-inch Erb had the additional challenge of overcoming a fear of heights.
“I was terrified but going out of a helicopter was awesome,” said Erb, who is also eying ranger school eventually.
Reflecting on the last four years, and what lies ahead, Reilly says Widener and ROTC is “the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn’t want it to happen any other way. The opportunities, the people I’ve met, it’s been invaluable. The experience I had here you can’t find anywhere else.”
