Widener University’s ROTC program celebrated its 2026 Commissioning Ceremony in Lathem Hall on Friday, May 15 with nine cadets taking the oath of office as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.

Six Widener students were among the cadets commissioned. The group of nine that was celebrated hailed from three area institutions  -- Widener, Neumann and West Chester Universities – and all trained through the Dauntless Battalion at Widener. Three additional cadets, who studied at Villanova University and trained with the Dauntless Battalion, will commission in a separate ceremony at their home university later this month.

All the cadets engaged in the hands-on, intense military training that has prepared them for successful careers. Family members who attended the commissioning at Widener pinned the new rank to the officers’ dress uniforms, and each one shared a silver dollar with the individual they selected to give them their first salute – a military tradition.

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

•    Bradyn C. Erb, mechanical engineering – cyber
•    Anna F. Greydanus, nursing – nursing corps
•    Rhett C. Klinger, mechanical engineering – corps of engineers
•    Connor R. Phillips, criminal justice – air defense artillery
•    Liam R. Reilly, finance – infantry
•    Robert G. Watkins, criminal justice – infantry

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Mario Terenas, who enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantryman in 1990, was the ceremony speaker. Terenas served 32 years and concluded his military career as the division command sergeant major of the 10th Mount Infantry in 2023. He shared four key pieces of advice with the new officers:

Don’t be average – “Our country does not deserve to have average soldiers in its military.”

Look in the mirror every day – “What you see of yourself and what others see of you need to match.”

Do not walk past the problem – “Don’t look the other way and say, ‘that’s somebody else’s problem.’ Don’t walk past a piece of trash and not pick it up. Don’t walk past the standard that’s not being adhered to and not stand up and say, ‘hey you’re not doing the right thing.’”

Be humble in victory and magnanimous in defeat – “For every victory somebody is feeling the sting of defeat and that’s not what the United States Army or military is about. We don’t gloat in victory.” 

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