Elon University celebrated two ROTC cadets who are graduating later this month with a commissioning reception at Johnston Hall.
ROTC cadets, Izaiah Ezeji-Miles ’25, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in computer science, and Drew Edwards ’25, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in biology, were recognized at a reception hosted by Elon ROTC and the Veterans employee resource group (ERG). They were joined by friends, family, professors and administrators who supported them throughout their four years at Elon.
Recognition Ceremony
The event featured a brief introduction from Jim Piatt, senior vice president for advancement and external affairs, followed by comments from Raymond Fletcher and Sean Giovanello.
Fletcher, who serves as Elon’s senior director for facilities management, is a Navy veteran and cofounder of the Veterans ERG.
“You will be placed in positions of leadership that you might not feel ready for, but just rest assured the training you have had and will receive will absolutely prepare you for your next opportunity,” Fletcher said. “Remember your greatest successes will not be because of your talent alone, but because of the team that you will lead and that you will nurture.”
Giovanello, associate professor of political science and international studies, serves as the ROTC program coordinator.
“It’s been great to watch you grow this year, even as you were beginning the year knowing it was going to be a year of big change as you moved into your careers in the Army and Air Force after graduation,’ said Giovanello.
Prior to the reception at Elon, Ezeji-Miles was commissioned at a ceremony at High Point as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and Edwards was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army at a ceremony at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T).
About the Graduates
The ceremony bookends a serendipitous friendship between the two graduating seniors. Ezeji-Miles and Edwards first met in Elon 1010, Elon’s signature first-year experience course. During the past four years, both participated in ROTC trainings and courses at N.C. A&T.
After graduation, Edwards will train at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he will participate in a 12-week basic officers leadership course. He says this next step will prepare him to oversee people and he looks forward to being part of something bigger.
“I will get to make an impact on people’s lives: people who will need to trust me and I will get to trust them,” said Edwards. “As part of this next step, I get to be the one that instills that motto to lower-ranking soldiers.”
Edwards came to Elon from Charlotte and, for this next phase, will remain in his home state. Ezeji-Miles, who joined Elon from Wilmington, North Carolina, will train at Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi. There, he will spend the next 97 days training in either 17 Delta, which focuses on managing people and managing networks, or 17 Sierra, which focuses on offensive hacking and defense.
Ezeji-Miles said that he has been interested in enlisting in the military since he was in middle school. He was drawn by the opportunity to make an impact and, around the same time, he also realized he was skilled at computer work.
“When I got to college and started doing ROTC, my perspective changed,” said Ezeji-Miles. “Instead of looking at these goals as ‘I’m doing computer work in the Air Force,’ these four years have shown me how much impact I really can have joining the Air Force.”
That impact, he said, will be defending people against cyber threats. He said that his coursework at Elon has prepared him for this career and better suited him for writing code, learning network and cyber security and developing skills in gaming.
Edwards would be interested in supporting the civilian work of the military. He said he has always been fascinated with conservation and working with marine animals. In January, he traveled to Panama for a biology trip and, the year before, he studied humpback whales in Hawaii.
“I’m just incredibly proud of Izaiah and Drew,” said Giovanello prior to the event. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to get to know them and see a little bit into a window and see how mature, responsible and capable they were as college students. The U.S. Military is really lucky to get two good young men like this.”
