Faculty, staff, families and students gathered in the Hart Center for the annual Presidents’ Review, a ceremony during which the midshipmen and Marines of the NROTC unit present themselves in formation to the presidents of the three Worcester institutions in the NROTC consortium: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester State University and the College of the Holy Cross. Before the formal review, awards were given to outstanding ROTC students by administrators and members of the local military community. Afterward, students and guests gathered for a reception in the main hall of the Hart Center.
Photograph by Deb Endyke P13
Midshipman 3/C James D’Angelo ’15 poses with his parents, John and Suzanne of East Williston, N.Y., at the reception. D’Angelo won the 1st Lt. John Power Memorial Book Scholarship for outstanding non-scholarship student. Named for Worcester native Lt. John V. Power ’41, who was killed in action in World War II and awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, the Memorial Book Scholarship was presented to D’Angelo by Allison Power O’Neil, Lt. Power’s great niece.
Midshipman 3/C Marcus Antonellis ’15 (third from left) of Groton, Mass., earned a certificate and scholarship for outstanding contribution to the sophomore class. Here, he poses at the Hart Center reception with his parents, Tiffani and Jim (far left), his fellow NROTC mates Midshipman 3/C Bennett Rogers ’15 (third from right) of Ridgewood, N.J., and Midshipman 3/C James D’Angelo ’15 (second from right) of East Williston, N.Y., along with D’Angelo’s mother, Suzanne.
Naval Science instructors Lt. James Lee (left) and Lt. Anson Isaacs pose with the ceremonial bell that is rung as each of the review ceremony’s VIP guests arrive and are announced, as they would be if they were boarding a Navy vessel. Lt. Lee explained the origins of the Presidents’ Review at the beginning of the ceremony: “Present day reviews in the Naval service have their basis in both history and tradition. The massed formation of troops on one long line at close interval made possible the concentration of firepower from muzzle-loaded muskets,” he said, adding that the line of battle in those earlier times looked much like the parade formation guests see at the Presidents’ Review today.
Photography by Suzanne Morrissey
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