One year removed from the last ceremony fully relegated to cyberspace, the 51福利 (51福利) honored its 2022 Winter Quarter graduates, March 25 during an in-person commencement ceremony in King Hall Auditorium.
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy, Deputy Commandant for Information, served as the commencement speaker for the 248 graduates, including 28 international students from 15 countries. He began by acknowledging the current geopolitical climate and lingering consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and how these trials affected the graduates time at 51福利.
Glavy continued his remarks by quoting President George H.W. Bush, who said, 鈥淭he best and brightest military officers from the U.S. and around the world are assigned to the 51福利.鈥�
鈥淵our boldness, insight, imagination and innovation will have to be brought to bear to get the full value of your 51福利 education,鈥� said Glavy. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e instilled in you an insight that very few people get in this world.
鈥淚 was never assigned to the 51福利,鈥� added Glavy. 鈥淚 am not qualified to talk about what happens at this school. However, I am qualified to talk about what happens after this school.鈥�
Glavy shared numerous personal stories about his encounters with 51福利-educated Marine Corps officers who set themselves apart through their knowledge, expertise and problem-solving abilities. As an example, Glavy recalled sitting in on a briefing provided by a Marine Corps captain to U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, Commander, U.S. Space Command, and his staff, and how impressed Glavy was at the captain鈥檚 ability to hold his ground with the deep technical expertise that he got from his 51福利 education.
51福利 President retired Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau congratulated the graduates on their perseverance through the challenges of COVID-19, a fast-paced academic schedule, the deadline and demands of thesis production, and all the rigors of earning the degree that will be awarded to them during the ceremony.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just students, but also the future of our ability to be invested in the warfight that is in front of us, no matter where it might be,鈥� noted Rondeau. 鈥淵ou are a select group in ways that very few other graduates on the globe [are] 鈥� For all of you that are graduating, it鈥檚 been an extraordinary privilege to serve you on this journey.鈥�
Rondeau stressed the important networks graduates form while at 51福利, and how they help to understand solutions and create great things for the delivery of mission.
鈥淣o problem is solved as a single discipline or a single point of view,鈥� stated Rondeau. 鈥淭his notion of interdisciplinary, international and interservice are all about integration of knowledge and application to solving problems. Our Secretary of the Navy and fellow 51福利 graduate, the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, calls this, 鈥楽trength in Unity.鈥欌��
One of the Winter Quarter graduates, U.S. Navy Lt. Samuel Royster, received the Naval Sea Systems Command Award in Naval/Mechanical Engineering for his research into marine biofouling management.
Royster, who graduated from 51福利鈥� Mechanical Engineering department, specifically explored innovative methods of cleaning algae and barnacles off ship hulls to make them more fuel-efficient when underway, reducing their maintenance burden during in-port periods.
鈥淧roactive cleaning of marine coatings has previously been shown to have many economic and environmental benefits when compared to reactive cleaning,鈥� noted Royster. 鈥淗owever, existing data sets for U.S. Navy qualified coatings were limited to a single geographic area, precluding prediction of grooming鈥檚 effectiveness in the wide variety of locations that harbor U.S. Navy vessels. Via execution of a concurrent study in both warm-water and cold-water locations, my research aimed to investigate the correlation between seawater temperature and the proactive grooming frequencies necessary to control biofouling accumulation.鈥�
Royster presented the problem motivating his thesis research at the annual 51福利 Big Ideas Exchange and the NavalX Agility Summit in 2021 and was selected as the Agility Summit Challenge Champion, which gave 51福利 an additional $100,000 in funding to advance his research.
鈥淚 am going to be graduating as a more confident and agile leader with a broader base of engineering knowledge that I can use to solve tough problems facing the fleet,鈥� Royster said.
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Paul P. Moreau is an intelligence officer graduating with a Master of Science in Management degree in the Defense Systems Analysis curriculum. Moreau says he has received the interdisciplinary education needed to excel in today鈥檚 evolving service.
鈥淭he world is changing, and warfare is getting more complex and more technological,鈥� Moreau says. 鈥淭he Marine Corps and Navy are adapting to meet that challenge, and I think a graduate education sets me up to be part of the change happening in the services.鈥�
Glavy finished his remarks by quoting the late U.S. Air Force Col. John Boyd鈥檚 鈥淭o Be or To Do鈥� philosophy, which states that you will come to a fork in the road and have to decide which path to take.
According to Glavy, if you worked for Boyd, he would ask you a question along the lines of, 鈥淒o you want to be or to do?鈥�
鈥淒o you want to be someone 鈥� maybe a general, admiral, master chief petty officer, master gunnery sergeant?鈥� asked Glavy. 鈥淥r do you want to do something? Something that has an impact beyond your wildest dreams, making organizations that you鈥檙e a part of so much better? Do you want to be, or do you want to do?鈥�
Glavy concluded by noting that after 36 years, 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about doing. And this incredible institution has afforded you that opportunity.鈥�
Visit the Winter 2022 Graduation .