Nineteen cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army during the Spring Commissioning Ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday (May 14) in the Mountainlair, Mountaineer Room. (WVU Photo/Matt Sunday)
WHAT: The West Virginia University Army ROTC Mountaineer Battalion will commission 19 cadets as second lieutenants during the annual Spring Commissioning Ceremony.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, 6 p.m.
WHERE: WVU Mountainlair, Mountaineer Room, 1550 University Ave., Morgantown
WHO: Col. Mike Farmer, commander of the 4th “All-American” Brigade of U.S. Army Cadet Command — the Army ROTC higher headquarters for the WVU Mountaineer Battalion — will be the keynote speaker.
Lt. Col. Eron Hilty, professor of military science, and Master Sgt. William O’Neal, senior military science instructor, will present the cadets for commissioning.
Those commissioning include the following:
Kyle Butler from Staten Island, New York, graduates with a social work degree and will remain in the West Virginia Army National Guard as a Medical Service Corps officer with the 201st Field Artillery Battalion Headquarters in Fairmont.
Liam Carlin from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, graduates with a political science degree. He will utilize an educational delay to attend law school at Penn State University for the next three years before assessing onto active duty as a Judge Advocate General or JAG officer.
Sean Carrell from Virginia Beach, Virginia graduates with a business administration degree majoring in finance. He commissions onto active duty as Infantry officer. Carrell served with the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
Matthew Chehovin from Fairfax, Virginia, graduates with a computer science degree. He will remain in the West Virginia Army National Guard as an Aviation officer with Company C, 150th Aviation Regiment in Wheeling after serving with the West Virginia Army National Guard throughout his time at WVU.
Andrew Cunningham from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, graduates with a multidisciplinary studies degree and will assess onto active duty as a Corps of Engineers officer. He is a Distinguished Military Graduate and a three-year Army ROTC National High School Scholarship recipient.
Collin Edwards from Hagerstown, Maryland, graduates with a degree in business administration majoring in management information systems and finance. He will remain with the West Virginia Army National Guard serving as a Transportation Corps officer with the 1528th Forward Support Company in Martinsburg.
John T. “JT” Fetty from Grafton graduates with a Master of Public Administration degree and will remain on active duty as a Corps of Engineers officer with follow-on training and duty as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer. He previously graduated from WVU in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and returned under the Army’s Green to Gold Program after four years on active duty as a combat engineer serving with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy. Fetty is a Distinguished Military Graduate.
Sean Garvey from Macedonia, Ohio, graduates with a business administration degree majoring in international business. He will assess onto active duty as an Aviation officer. He was a three-year Army ROTC National High School Scholarship recipient.
Andrew Garvin from Parkersburg graduates with a criminology degree and will assess onto active duty as an Armor officer branch detailed from the Corps of Engineers. He served in the 150th Cavalry Regiment of the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
Samuel Glazier from Fayetteville, Georgia, graduates with a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture and will serve in the Georgia Army National Guard as a Finance Corps officer after serving with the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
Dylan Long from Lewisburg graduates with a business administration degree majoring in organizational leadership. He will assess onto active duty as a Military Intelligence officer and is a Distinguished Military Graduate. Long served in the West Virginia Army National Guard while in school.
Kadin Maxey from Fairmont graduates with a degree in industrial engineering. He will remain in the West Virginia Army National Guard as a Signal Corps officer with the 201st Field Artillery Battalion in Fairmont. Maxey was a four-year Army National Guard Minutemen Scholarship recipient out of high school.
Connor McClelland from Madison, Virginia, graduates with bachelor’s degrees in criminology and history and will assess onto active duty as an Infantry officer. He served in the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU and is a Distinguished Military Graduate.
Griffin Mills from Norwich, New York, graduates with a business administration degree majoring in marketing and will assess onto active duty as an Infantry officer. Mills was a three-year Army ROTC National High School Scholarship recipient and earned Distinguished Military Graduate status.
Abigail Ott from Haymarket, Virginia, graduates with a nursing degree and will assess onto active duty as an Army Nurse Corps officer. She was a three-year Army ROTC National High School Scholarship recipient.
Paul Rayner from Stevensville, Maryland, graduates with a political science degree and a minor in Russian Studies. He will assess into the Delaware Army National Guard as a Military Police Corps officer. Rayner served with the 153rd Military Police Company in the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
John Sotardi from Parsippany, New Jersey, graduates with a degree in communication studies. He will assess onto active duty as an Armor officer. He served with the 115th Engineer Company of the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
Landen Starkey from Fairmont graduates with degrees in political science and philosophy and will commission into the Virginia Army National Guard as a Military Police Corps officer after serving in the West Virginia Army National Guard while attending WVU.
Katherine Swesey from Davenport, Iowa, graduates with a Master of Public Heath degree and will assess onto active duty as a Military Intelligence Corps officer after training and an initial branch detail assignment as a Chemical Corps officer. Swesey was recognized as the Most Outstanding Graduate Student in the social and behavioral sciences program by faculty in the WVU School of Public Health.
BACKGROUND: Army ROTC is the premier, four-year progressive leadership development program on campus. During classes, leadership labs, physical training and field training exercises, cadets learn firsthand what it takes to lead others, motivate groups and conduct missions as an officer in the U.S. Army. Cadets are required to complete a 35-day leadership assessment at Fort Knox, Kentucky, known as Advanced Camp. Upon earning their degrees, cadets commission as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army on Active duty, in the Army National Guard or in the Army Reserve.
The WVU ROTC program was recognized in 2007-08 as the best program in the eastern region of the United States and was subsequently awarded the General Douglas MacArthur Award.
The commissioning class for 2024-25 is comprised of 27 total cadets from the three schools forming the Mountaineer Battalion — WVU, Fairmont State and Waynesburg University. All 27 cadets are from WVU this year. Of the 19 lieutenants commissioning in this ceremony, 11 will transition onto active duty, seven will commission into the Army National Guard and one will use an educational delay to attend law school. Seven cadets commissioned in the fall semester and one will commission later this summer. This is the largest commissioning class since 33 lieutenants commissioned in 2021. The spring class includes five Distinguished Military Graduates who ranked among the top 20% of cadets nationwide determined by the national order of merit list.
MEDIA NOTES: Pre- or post-ceremony interviews with any of the newly commissioned officers and/or guest speaker can be arranged on an individual basis. Cadet biographical photos are also available upon request for hometown news outlets.
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jd/5/13/25
MEDIA CONTACT: John Dowling
Recruiting Operations Officer
WVU Army ROTC
304-894-6641; John.Dowling@mail.wvu.edu
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