Five Elon seniors commissioned into the U.S. military

Five Elon seniors took the oath of office and were commissioned into the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army a day before receiving their diplomas as members of Elon’s Class of 2021.

Christian Chybrzynski, William Cooper, Jacob Lane, Macen Lantzman and Catherine LoGrande were celebrated in the presence of family, friends and supporters at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro on Thursday during a commissioning ceremony. Cadets took the oath, were pinned with second lieutenant bars by their loved ones, and received their first salutes as commissioned officers. President Connie Ledoux Book also addressed each new officer via video, congratulating them on their achievements.

The commissioning ceremony is the culmination of four years of training and marks the beginning of military service for each cadet. In taking the oath of office, each swore to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Each newly commissioned officer becomes an agent of the executive branch of the government, appointed by the president based on the secretary of defense’s signed officer nomination scroll for appointment of each candidate, which has also been approved by the U.S. Senate.

​Elon offers its ROTC program through a cooperative agreement with N.C. A&T. Elon cadets travel to the N.C. A&T campus for classes, training and other programs.

​The seniors who were commissioned as officers have also received their first official assignments:

U.S. Air Force

2nd Lt. Christian Chybrzynski is from Butler, Pennsylvania, and achieved the rank of cadet colonel. Chybrzynski has held positions of cadet wing commander, flight commander and operations deputy commander. Chybrzynski will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. He will enter pilot training at Colombus AFB in Mississippi. “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to have a home campus where I had a college experience just like my peers while also going through a military officer program,” Chybrzynski said.

2nd Lt. Macen Lantzman is from Livingston, New Jersey, and achieved the rank of cadet lieutenant colonel. Lantzman has held positions of flight commander, academic officer, professional development officer and cadet vice wing commander. Lantzman will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in human service studies and Spanish. Lantzman will serve as a force support officer at RAF Alconbury in England.

2nd Lt. Catherine LoGrande is from Alexandria, Virginia, and majored in applied mathematics with a minor in history. While in ROTC, LoGrande held positions of flight commander, operations group commander and mission support group deputy commander. After commissioning, LoGrande will serve as an active-duty aircraft maintenance officer.

U.S. Army

2nd Lt. Jacob Lane achieved the rank of CDT 1LT and served as a PLT TAC Officer. Lane received a bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in business administration and political science. Lane is branched Armor and will attend Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

2nd Lt. William Cooper achieved the rank of cadet sergeant major and served as the Aggie Battalion’s operations sergeant major. Cooper has served as a firefighter and EMT for the Town of Elon since January 2018. Cooper received bachelor’s degrees in public health studies and statistics. Cooper is branched Armor and will attend Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.