How Naval ROTC shaped my years on the Hill, and beyond

Serving in Naval ROTC enriched my Cornell experience and helped me throughout life in learning to work with, and listen to, people from different perspectives. I am thankful for the opportunities during my years in NROTC, which took me out of my comfort zone and challenged me academically.

The Navy required classes I would never have taken, ranging from naval architecture and engineering, celestial navigation, calculus, and business management to something brand-new called “computer science.”

In September 1968, I signed up for NROTC in Barton Hall in a new class of 77 midshipmen out of about 300 total in the unit.

Read the full Chime In essay by A&S history major Don Stanton '72 on the Cornellians website.

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Black and white historic photo of Don Stanton '72, wearing a Navy uniform
Provided Don Stanton '72 as an ensign on a destroyer in 1973