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THE CITADEL |
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OF THE PRESIDENT |
Tele: (843) 953-5012 FAX: (843) 953-5287 |
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June 2001
Dear Parents, Commencement took place May 12 in McAlister Field House as some 5,600 family and friends proudly watched. Famed writer and Citadel alumnus, Pat Conroy, ’67, gave the address. And I realized," Mr. Conroy said, referring to his experience in first coming to The Citadel, "that I had come to a place that has etched itself on me, etched itself on my character."
Graduating were 386 young leaders who too will go out into the world with The Citadel etched on their characters and make a difference in whatever avenues they choose. Of those who graduated, 25 were commissioned into the Air Force, 30 were commissioned into the Army, 18 were commissioned into the Navy, and 15 were commissioned into the Marines. Many plan to attend graduate schools. We have learned so far that Cadet Sager Salman Al-Khalifa will attend the American University; Cadet Walter Bogardus, the University of Hartford; Cadet Ben Baroody, the University of South Carolina School of Law; Cadet Aaron Capps, The Citadel; Cadet Joseph Cleveland, The Citadel; Cadet Clark Cooper, the University of South Carolina; Cadet Dwight Dempsey, Georgia Tech; Cadet Samuel Dillahey, The Citadel; Cadet Thomas Estes, the University of Florida; Cadet Michael Gilbertson, Tulane University; Cadet Rob Graham, the University of Florida School of Law; Lindsey Lyerly, Columbia International University; Cadet Matt Locklair, the University of South Carolina Medical School; Cadet Fredric Marcinak, the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, on a Rotary Scholarship to study law; Cadet Jeremy McCall, The Citadel; Cadet Brandon Peak, Mercer University Law School as a Presidential Scholar; Cadet Justin Remack, the University of Charleston; Cadet Richard Watts, East Carolina School of Archaeology on a full scholarship; Cadet Lee Miller, the University of Southern Illinois on a full scholarship to study computer and information systems; Cadet Harry Tashjian, William and Mary Law School; Michel Walsdorff, Université Libre de Bruxelles to study medicine; and Cadet Courtney Walsh, the University of Florida Law School. Many graduates have already landed impressive jobs and many plan to spend the summer traveling. As they make their way into their post-Citadel lives, these graduates will represent The Citadel well. They are an extremely accomplished lot of young people, our Corps of Cadets, and I write to you today to highlight the activities they were involved in last semester. In the spotlight
Cadets were singled out for many good works during the semester. Cadet Mikeal Martin won the senior class vote as the finest, purest and most courteous member of the class and thus the recipient of the John O. Willson Ring. Cadet Fredric Marcinak garnered the First Honor Graduate Scholarship Medal for his exemplary scholastic resume. Cadet Russ Touchberry, whose many contributions helped enrich the lives of fellow cadets, was awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. Cadet Craig Wilson accepted the Wade Hampton Saber for his outstanding demonstration of leadership and for making the greatest contribution to The Citadel as a cadet. Cadet Marcus Walton competed against more than a dozen fellow cadets to win the Star of the West Award for best-drilled cadet. Cadet Ben Baroody was awarded The Citadel Pre-law Committee’s P. Michael Duffy Award for excellence in pre-law studies and service to The Citadel’s Inn of Court pre-law society. Cadet Stephen Foland was the winner of this year's Harry Dent Award and received a check for more than $2,000. The Dent Award recognizes the best independent academic project in history, political science, or English. Cadet Foland’s paper was written on the history of South Carolina’s railroads.
The top ranking cadets for the 2001-2002 academic year were announced in May. Cadet BJ Cox earned the highest-ranking cadet position on campus as regimental commander. Cadet Phillip Reynolds will be second in command as regimental executive officer. The four battalion commanders are Cadet Brian Donehue, First Battalion; Cadet Ralph Montedoro, Second Battalion; Cadet Mark Connelly, Third Battalion; and Cadet Ryan Parker, Fourth Battalion. Leading the Regimental Band will be Cadet Matthew Powell, and leading Palmetto Battery will be Cadet Jason Kennickell. Our cadets were busy in the community as well. Cadets Jennifer Baxley, Robert Burnham, Peter Driscoll, Ryan Flanagan, Stephen Hungerford, and Horace Stephenson accompanied Visiting Assistant Professor Roy Freedman to Barnes & Noble to read from their own works as part of National Poetry Month. Cadet Thomas Turner was initiated into Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honor Society, in March, and Cadets Michael Barno, Sharon Hacker, and Justin Scruggs became associate members of Sigma Xi, the Science Research Honor Society at the Charleston chapter’s annual banquet in April. Also in April, 40 cadets were inducted into The Citadel chapter of Phi Kappa Phi when it celebrated its 22nd anniversary. Phi Kappa Phi is a national honor society that recognizes and promotes scholarship throughout all academic disciplines. Membership in the society is limited to the top eight percent of the senior class and the top four percent of the junior class. In academic life To fulfill his Honors Program independent study requirement, Cadet Richard Watts worked with the Sea Island Historical Society on James Island transcribing post-Civil War accounts from the Freedman’s Bank of Charleston. The Freedman’s Saving & Trust Company was established in 1865 by Congress to serve freed slaves. Cadet Watts’ research will later be used in a book. Cadet Brock Marable completed an internship in psychology at Carolina Youth Development Center where he worked with boys in a residential home placement, assisting with homework and planning outdoor activities. Six history majors served as interns at national and state agencies and at historical sites in the Charleston area. Cadets Matthew Kutilek and Joseph Greene worked with the National Park Service at Fort Sumter under the supervision of historian Richard Hatcher. They helped organize and classify documents on microfilm about the capture and defense of the fort by Confederate forces. Cadet Thomas Owens worked for the South Carolina Historical Society, describing and organizing recent acquisitions of the collections of personal papers and records. Cadet Michael Teeple served as interpreter and guide aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown, the famous aircraft carrier at Patriot’s Point Naval Museum in Charleston Harbor. Cadet Teeple dressed in U.S. Navy period uniforms and gave interpretive lectures. Cadet Kevin Ryan worked as an interpreter at the Joseph Manigault House, recounting its history to tourist groups who visited. Cadet Scott Sheriff worked with the Sea Island Historical Association on archeological excavations at historical sites in Charleston and Dorchester counties. For the past ten years, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, located at the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has hosted a Citadel cadet intern during the summer. This summer’s intern, Cadet Andrew St. Jean, will work for four weeks with the institute cataloging personal papers donated by retiring general officers of the Army. In January, Cadets James Allen, Joshua Brandon, Stephen Foland, and Vlasta Zekulic attended the Model United Nations Conference in Montreal. Cadet Allen received Honorable Mention in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee as well as the Reverend Billy Graham Award for his evangelical style of speaking. At the 2001 South Carolina Undergraduate Social Science Symposium, Cadet Kevin Lewis chaired a panel; Paul Eitel presented a paper on the four phases of Baptist Church missionary work in Cameroon; Cadet David Preston presented a paper on the role of the secretary general in mandating United Nations peacekeeping operations; and Cadet Bert Simpson presented a paper examining the integration of Hispanic immigrants into South Carolina society. At Coastal Carolina University in March, Cadets Ryan Graham, Robert Harig, Chih Kuo Lee, Yow-Chyun Lin, and Ying-Jiun Wang participated in the first Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Southeastern Atlantic Section Jeopardy Competition and won the second place award. In community service Cadets logged in more than 5000 hours in community service in the spring semester. Cadets assisted with a Charleston County voter registration drive, a playground building project in Summerville, the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk, the American Heart Association Walk, the MUSC Race for the Cure, and the People Against Rape Take Back the Night. The chairman of the South Carolina Presidential Inaugural Ball Committee wrote requesting cadets to serve as escorts for the ball. In particular, she requested Cadet Benjamin Grusin, "an exceptional young man with proven reliability and dignity" whom she came to know during his term as a Washington Fellow. Accompanying Cadet Grusin for the inaugural ball were Cadets Clay Middleton, Richard Neikirk, Joshua Wells, and Joshua Zammito. In February, 120 cadets spent a Saturday morning cleaning the streets of Charleston as part of the annual Rivers City Clean Sweep. Cadets provided color guards for a U.S. naturalization ceremony, a World War II reunion, the Coastal Carolina Fair opening, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce annual conference, and the Palmetto Trust Historical Foundation dinner honoring South Carolina’s first ladies. For Valentine’s Day, The Citadel chapter of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity attended the Franke Home (a retirement community) celebration to dance, eat, and visit with the residents. The Regimental Band and Pipes performed for the Marion Square Renovation opening, the Charleston Highland Games, a memorial service on the U.S.S. Yorktown, the Marine Corps Birthday, and Scottish Heritage Sunday. Cadets Sven Eikmeier, John Exum, Eugene Lathrop, Michael Samet, Philip Sawyer, Nathaniel Timberlake, and Sean Waterman helped with the annual Medical University of South Carolina Cooper River Bridge Run. Cadets James Allen, Timothy Lott, Timothy Winkler, and Lisa Wu assisted with the Heart Association’s annual auction and gala. Cadets John Bruggink, Greg Durant, Ian Felty, Mike Hudson, Jason Kennickell, Rufus Marye, and Robert Sturdy joined Reverend Sandy Key for a mission trip in January. In the Dominican Republican mountains, they worked alongside natives to clear land for a baseball field, learned about the people, and played with their children. In March and April, accounting majors Cadets Motasim Elalem, Kyle Hughey, Kevin Jayson, Wade Kornahrens, Paul Tanoos, and Joey Ware volunteered in the IRS-sponsored VITA Program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance), helping people in the community prepare their income taxes. To participate in the program, the cadets had to train and pass a competency exam. They worked in two to three hours shifts in local libraries and malls preparing tax returns. Cadets from the education department were at the fall festival at Moultrie Middle School, playing games with the students and planning activities for the day; they tutored 7th and 8th grade students at Alice Birney Middle School and Fort Johnson Middle School; and they paired up with students from St. James-Santee Elementary School for a tour of the campus and a look at cadet life.
The department of cadet activities hosted the annual Bulldog-Bullpup Easter Party in April. Bulldog-Bullpup is a mentoring program in which cadets are paired up with local children to serve as positive role models. Officer Andrew Cooper, ’00, delighted the Bullpups when he showed up for the party in his police cruiser and police uniform. As a cadet, Officer Cooper was very involved in the mentoring program. Now as a graduate, he’s still involved—even recruiting kids to the program. Selena Hardison of Crisis Ministries wrote to praise Cadet Lesjanusar Peterson and other members of the African American Society for volunteering to help with the organization’s Ragtime Gala. The American Red Cross presented a trophy to The Citadel at the February 12 Citadel vs. College of Charleston basketball game for a competition blood drive between the two colleges. Shelton Milner from cadet activities and Regimental Human Affairs Officer Cadet Shaun Braddy accepted the award on behalf of The Citadel. Faculty, staff, and cadets donated 872 units of blood this year. On campus The Citadel celebrated 158 years on Corps Day Weekend March 15-18. In the Mess Hall, Dr. Henry Rittenberg, ’38, representing the oldest living alumnus, and Cadet Mithun Joseph, the youngest freshman cadet, cut the birthday cake. The Cadet Talent Show was a tremendous success this year with 14 talent acts performing. Cadets Sean Waterman and David Vaughan won first prize with a song written by Cadet Waterman called A Different Pair of Eyes. Cadet Waterman sang and played acoustic guitar while Cadet Vaughan played mandolin. Cadets Chris Barnett and John Freeman shared second place. Cadet Barnett performed his own original composition called Southbound Train, and Cadet Freeman performed a piano medley that he called Logan and the Ants. In a first for collegiate honor societies, Maj. John Kuzenski and Cadets Ryan McCarty, Shaun Reynolds, Courtney Walsh, and Harvey Watson used streaming internet audio to broadcast news and information to members of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science Honor Society, and the public. The URL is http://www.live365.com/cgi bin/directory.cgi?autostart=pisigalpha. In celebration of National Engineer’s Week, the engineering departments held their annual engineering fair for Lowcountry middle and high school students. The events included a model bridge competition, a mad science program, and a display of cadet senior design projects. In February, The Citadel celebrated Black History Month, and in March, the Massing of the Colors ceremony. More than 25 color guard groups from across the Lowcountry gathered in Summerall Chapel for the annual ceremony sponsored by the General Westmoreland Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars and The Citadel. On the last day of exams, the Counseling Center and the department of cadet activities hosted a day trip to The Citadel Beach House for freshmen cadets. This outing is possible because of an alcohol awareness grant intended to show students how to have fun without alcohol. Three buses were loaded with nearly 150 cadets for a day of sun at the beach. All of the cadets had a great time, relaxing, swimming in the ocean, playing basketball and volleyball, and eating hotdogs and hamburgers. In athletics Hotel Company, led by Athletic Officer Cadet Jeff Couch, accumulated the most points in intramural competition this year. Kilo Company, led by Cadet Jason Lewis finished in second place after challenging Hotel the entire year. The Citadel Pistol Team ended the season on a high note placing second at the College National Championships in free pistol. Cadet Jason Mayne was the individual standout; he placed second in air pistol and was named to the All-American Team in free, standard, and air pistol. Cadet Mayne’s finish in air pistol also earned him a spot on the U.S. Olympic Development Team. He will receive funding to train as well as an opportunity to compete for a spot on the U.S. Shooting Team. Also on the free pistol team were Cadets Chris Canavan, Chris Barker and William Murray, all of whom shot personal bests and won All-American honors in free pistol. In April, Cadets Alex Denton and Matt Shirley traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the National Junior Olympic Championships where they competed against the top young shooters in the country. The Citadel again advanced to the national collegiate boxing tournament held in Reno, Nevada. In April, MECEP (Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Education Program) Staff Sergeant Heichelbech qualified to go as a gold medal winner at the regional tournament in the 147-pound class, and Cadet Munar qualified by placing third at regionals in the 132-pound class. Citadel cadets organized two new sport clubs in the spring, ice hockey and women’s basketball. Cadets Khadedra Bey, Candice Dickey and Ragan Freitag will lead The Citadel women’s basketball team next year, and MECEP Staff Sergeant Jeff Steele and Cadets Josh Wells and Richard Neikirk have plans to compete in the College Hockey South Conference. A game is already scheduled against VMI during homecoming weekend. With the guidance of Coaches Mark Hirselj and James Green, The Citadel Rugby Football Team beat its Southern rival, Auburn University, 8-7, and went on to the semi-finals of the USA Rugby Regional Tournament hosted by Clemson University. The Citadel Volleyball Club Team finished the year on a high note, placing third at the Atlantic’s Beach Bash Tournament in Palm Beach, Florida. The Volleyball Team hosted several Tri-County Volleyball Association tournaments this year, playing well in each one. Team Captain Cadet Reese Huebsch along with Eileen Guerra, Jonathan Patton, Andrew Reed, and Carl Wright combined to make the Bulldogs a formidable team for opponents. In wrestling, Cadets Mike Regner and Robby Bell advanced to the NCAA Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. Cadet Regner earned a berth as the conference champion while Cadet Bell went as a wild card entry. The Citadel’s wrestling team earned the 16th spot in the NCAA All-American Academic List, and senior Cadet Jon Gross made Academic All-American in addition to All-Southern Conference Honors on the mat summary. Cadet Eddie Almada was presented with the Buddy Hartsell-Don Bunch Sportsmanship Award during the Southern Conference’s honors banquet. The award is voted on annually by conference coaches. In the Capital City Classic championship game in Tallahassee, Florida, Cadet Travis Cantrell made three 3-point shots in the second half and scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs to the tournament title. Basketball finished 16-12, one of the best seasons in the college’s history. The team won 12 of 14 games played in McAlister Field House. Coach Pat Dennis reached his 100th career victory in a 64-62 win over Wofford, becoming only the second basketball coach in Citadel history to post 100+ games. Athletic Director Les Robinson holds the record with 132 wins. The Citadel's exciting 62-58 victory over the College of Charleston on February 12 aired live on regional TV and was played in front of 5,563 fans. Cadet Alan Puckett was named the Southern Conference Player-of-the-Week after The Citadel's wins over Wofford and Georgia Southern. Track and field had a very successful season. Cadet Robert Killian broke the college's freshman steeplechase record and Sharon Hacker rewrote the record for women's distance running events. The men’s team placed fourth in the 2001 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Lexington, Virginia. Cadet Quentin Armstrong won the indoor and outdoor shot put titles while Cadet Jeff Witherspoon led The Citadel with 20 team points in the outdoor championship and won the 200-meter dash. At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, the men’s track and field team went on to cap their performance by winning the 4 x 100m military relay. Cadets Jay Ingram, Rob Nichols, and Jeff Witherspoon ran a 41.74 relay to outdistance VMI, Army, and Navy.
Once again, the baseball team went on to win the Southern Conference Championship. The team played in Columbia in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Cadet Philip Hartig has completely shattered The Citadel and the Southern Conference's record books. Cadet Hartig holds nine all-time Citadel records and five all-time Southern Conference records and was recently drafted by the Florida Marlins to play Major League Baseball. Cadet Suzanne Campbell tied for 33rd at the Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship in Boone, North Carolina, in April. In closing As you can see, your sons and daughters who make up this extraordinary group of young people we call the South Carolina Corps of Cadets are excelling in all areas as they become the great leaders that The Citadel is renowned for producing. You have good reason to be proud of them. Please accept Norwood’s and my best wishes for a wonderful summer. We look forward to seeing you soon.
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Sincerely, John
S. Grinalds |