Nine Florida Tech ROTC Cadets Commissioned

New Second Lieutenants Include Marshall, Bixby Award Winners

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Nine U.S. Army cadets received commissions as second lieutenants at a ceremony Friday at Florida Institute of Technology. The students will receive their bachelor’s degrees in commencement ceremonies Saturday.

Four of the nine cadets are from Brevard County. They are: Phillip Bunker of Melbourne, mechanical engineering major, Military Intelligence, U.S. Army Reserve; Ayla Chase of Cocoa Beach, information systems management major, Signal Corp, active duty; Tara Drumm of Port St. John, interdisciplinary science major, Adjutant General, U.S. Army Reserve; and Molly Enochs of Melbourne, aeronautical science major, Aviation, active duty.

Also to be commissioned are: Tiffany Farrar of McHenry, Ill., forensic psychology major, Military Intelligence, U.S. Army Reserve; Henry Jacobs of Sykesville, Md., aviation management with flight major, Aviation, National Guard; Shaun Myers of San Antonio, Texas, aviation management with flight major, Quartermaster, U.S. Army Reserve; Jonas Velazquez of Bakersfield, Calif., aerospace engineering major, Aviation, National Guard; and Michael Volanti of Weston, Fla., business administration major, Finance, active duty.

Two cadets have already collected accolades. Enochs was the recipient of the national George C. Marshall Award, which recognizes the outstanding cadet of the year as chosen by his or her cadre members for exceptional leadership qualities and going above and beyond the battalion’s day-to-day duties. Drumm was the Florida Tech Joan Bixby Award recipient for outstanding female cadet.

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