Ceremony recognizes University veterans
Faculty and staff who have served in the U.S. armed forces will be recognized for their service to the country and their contributions to the University at a pinning ceremony, hosted by the Equal Opportunity Office, starting at 7:30 a.m. Friday, November 11, in the Hawkins-Carlson Room, Rush Rhees Library.
Bells will toll for those who serve
The University Carillon Society presents two concerts on the Hopeman Memorial Carillon in honor of Veterans Day: at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, and Friday, November 11. Friday’s concert will be streamed live on Facebook.
Hundreds of veterans, students, and community members are expected to join the University of Rochester Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) and RIT’s Army and Air Force ROTC Battalions for the 16th annual Veterans Day Joint Service Run.
In the spirit of ROTC and NROTC training, the three-mile run will begin before sunrise, at 5:45 a.m. Runners will follow a route from Fauver Stadium to the Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Highland Park, by way of Mt. Hope Avenue.
“Having all three ROTC units there—Navy, Army, and Air Force—supporting our veterans feels great,” says Jean-Marc Boullianne ’17, a midshipman first class in NROTC. “There’s typically some competition between the branches, but having us all there as one team supporting a cause, it means something.”
More veterans will be gathered at the finish line.
“Many of the veterans [who will be] waiting at the memorial cannot walk today, but they carry themselves with a venerable sense of pride,” says Scott Clyde ’03, a graduate of NROTC and current executive director of college enrollment.
After finishing his studies and training at the University with a degree in biology, Clyde was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, serving on active duty for 10 years as an F/A-18 Hornet fighter pilot before becoming a flight instructor in California.
Although current ROTC and NROTC members are preparing for their futures, an important purpose of the event is to reflect on the past. Participants will walk silently down the memorial’s paved path, where the names and the schools attended by local veterans are displayed.
“You can’t help but notice the veterans’ unspoken reflections of untold stories and peers that didn’t make it back,” Clyde says. “This creates an air of respect and camaraderie that is rare and exceptional.”
