Widener University’s ROTC program celebrated its 2023 Commissioning Ceremony in Alumni Auditorium on Wednesday, May 17 with 26 cadets taking the oath of office as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.

Eleven Widener students were among the cadets commissioned. The group of 26 hailed from five area universities and all trained through the Dauntless Battalion unit at Widener, where they engaged in the hands-on, intense military training that has prepared them for successful careers. Family members pinned the new rank to their dress uniforms, and each officer shared a silver dollar with the individual they selected to give them their first salute – a military tradition.

The 11 officers who earned their undergraduate degrees from Widener last week, and the military careers for which they prepared, included:

• Joshua Aarsen, field artillery
• Othniel Degahson, field artillery
• Emily DeOrio, nursing
• Jacob Fisher, armor
• Kevin Fitzgerald, field artillery
• Jeffrey Miekley, field artillery
• Madison Murphy, transportation
• Meghan O'Donnell, adjutant general
• William Rodgers, aviation
• Hannah Specht, nursing
• Vincent Starkey, adjutant general

The program speaker was three-star retired Lieutenant General Tony Ierardi, the uncle of West Chester University graduating cadet Stephanie Ierardi. He advised the new officers to acknowledge and reflect upon the responsibility that they hold to their country, their units, and the soldiers that they may one day lead. 

“The army and the nation are counting on you to do what’s right even when you may find yourself in the most challenging circumstances,” said Lt. Gen. Ierardi. “Be faithful to the institution and always serve the army, the constitution, and the people of the United States with integrity and honor.”

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