U . S . N AVA L A C A D E M Y A L U M N I A S S O C I AT I O N A N D F O U N D AT I O N
I M PA C T R E P O R T
2022–2023
CENTER FOR EXPERIENTIAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 1
2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
SUMMARY The Center for Experiential Leadership Development (ELD) is the bridge between the Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Division’s curricular programs within the leadership, ethics and law department and USNA experiential leader programs. ELD’s purpose is to draw connections between the behavioral science theory taught in the classroom and experiential leadership practice. Colonel Maria “MJ” Pallotta ’94, USMCR, Ph.D., has served as the director of the center for ELD since 2017. Mrs. Chardell McCrory serves as education technician. Highlights from the 2022-2023 academic year include the following:
NATIONAL OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP SCHOOL (NOLS)
“At NOLS I learned how to effectively communicate and make decisions when tired. I also learned the importance of making navigation decisions as a group. When doing so, I found that everyone was dedicated to the same goal. As a future naval officer, I will use my NOLS experience to foster a positive learning environment while also making sure that the mission is completed.” –MIDN IVAN THOMAS ’25
NOLS provides field-based leadership practicums designed to support and complement classroom leadership theory by allowing students to execute and reflect on real-world decision making in austere, unpredictable, and dynamic wilderness environments with immediate consequences. NOLS focuses on four types of leadership: directed leadership, peer leadership, active followership, and self-leadership. During the summer of 2023, 84 midshipmen attended three types of courses in Wyoming and Alaska—backpacking, mountaineering, and sea kayaking.
“At NOLS I learned that just like assessing the terrain, there are times when we have to switch from looking at what is directly in front of us to seeing the whole picture to gain perspective in order to solve a problem. I learned how to better differentiate when to deliberate and come to a group consensus and when to make a quick decision with limited input from others. I also learned that it is often better to cook a simple meal well than try to cook something complex and become the over-ambitious chef!” –MIDN ANUJ SIRSIKAR ’25
“My experience with NOLS was fantastic, both personally and professionally. I learned about the way I respond to living and leading in tough conditions. Living in the back country for a month was definitely a new experience for me, and I learned to work through tough situations when there is no way out. NOLS definitely prepares you to be a better leader by putting you in a leadership role making impactful decisions in a difficult environment.” –MIDN NOAH HORTON ’24
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
OUTWARD BOUND SPRING BREAK HIKE AND SUMMER BLOCK TRAINING
“Outward Bound was the most rewarding leadership experience I have had so far at USNA because it taught me the value of being vulnerable with my peers, who are now some of my closest friends at the Academy. We were taught Outward Bound’s rigorous character and leadership curriculum so effortlessly by their dedicated and caring leaders.” –MIDN REAGAN MAR ’26
The Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School (CBOBS) offers a field-based leadership practicum designed to support and complement classroom leadership theory by allowing students to execute and reflect on real-world decision making in austere, unpredictable, and dynamic wilderness environments with immediate consequences. Courses meet the needs of midshipmen and USNA’s demand for small unit leadership experiences.
TRAVIS MANION FOUNDATION (TMF) SPRING BREAK VETERANS HIKE
During the summer course, CBOBS promotes effective teamwork and leadership development by providing wilderness expeditions and training that emphasizes the ideals of character, leadership, and service. This transformative learning experience, where students develop new technical skills as well as a sense of teamwork, self-confidence, and a desire to make a difference, are designed and delivered by a community of the industry’s most skilled and dedicated educators and instructors. Additionally, during spring break, midshipmen participate in a five-day hike along the Appalachian Trail with veterans from USNA and the community in a one-on-one mentoring and leadership expedition. This year, 18 midshipmen participated in the spring break hike, and eight midshipmen participated in the summer block expedition.
During spring break 2023, 16 midshipmen and three USNA staff members joined TMF staff, hiking guides, and fellow USNA alumni for the inaugural USNA-TMF Spring Break Hike. The expedition lasted five days and occurred in and around the Shenandoah Valley, VA, trails and waterways. Similar to the Outward Bound hike, this veterans-midshipmen expedition challenged participants to negotiate leadership scenarios in a cold, austere, and dynamic outdoor environment, often at altitude. Guides taught trail behavior, survival skills, teamwork, and leadership skills such as those practiced by Marine First Lieutenant Travis Manion ’04, USMC. “The major lesson that I took away from this hike was to be present in the moment. I never noticed how busy and crammed my life was until I went on this hike and was able to take a step back and breathe. I learned that no matter how hard (or cold) it gets, it will inevitably get easier. There is no reason to pity and feel sorry for yourself. You have to make the best of every moment.” –MIDN KERRA MILLER ’26
“Outward Bound provided a fantastic experience for learning peer-to-peer leadership while having a fun time with our crew. Canoe camping on the Potomac and backpacking in the Dolly Sods wilderness fostered teamwork and close friendships amongst the crew members that I will never forget.” –MIDN A.J. MERRILL ’25
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
CLASS OF ’77 GETTYSBURG LEADERSHIP ENCOUNTER (GLE)
THE NAVAL ACADEMY WOMEN’S NETWORK (NAWN)
The Class of ’77 Gettysburg Leadership Encounter occurred for the Class of 2024 Brigade leaders over two days in June on the battlefield and at Gettysburg College. Varsity team captains and Brigade leadership learned about the responsibilities and challenges of command through lessons from the iconic U.S. Civil War battle. Midshipman leaders attended classes and break-out discussions covering the leadership tenets of loyalty, standards, and action. The battlefield study enabled networking and team building through a cohesive network of peer support that facilitates critical professional relationships within the Brigade during the academic year. During the academic year, these leaders met monthly before first period to discuss current leadership trends and challenges within the Brigade. In December each year, the second semester Brigade commanders spend one day in Gettysburg studying the same lessons.
The Network empowers and equips midshipmen to navigate careers as leaders through increased opportunities for engagement, education, and experiences with officers and graduates, cultivating an inclusive and diverse mentoring network of women and men from USNA, the fleet, and the Operating Forces. The Network typically involves 400-500 midshipmen annually and provides Lean-in Circle opportunities, as well as four networking events throughout the year to foster mentoring and future retention of women service members. During the 2022-23 academic year, four networking and mentoring events occurred in various venues on and off the Yard, including the annual Military Leadership Symposium, which occurred in Mahan Hall in April. Lean-in circles continued throughout the year. “Being exposed to midshipmen and officers looking to mentor has helped shape me into the leader I am today. I now have a network I can depend on whenever I need advice and support. Likewise, I can be there for others who need a mentor. The relationships we build here at USNA continue into the fleet and support the retention of women in the military.” –MIDN CLAIRE BROPHY ’24
“Gettysburg helped put all that we are doing at the Academy in perspective for what we will be doing once we commission as officers. The GLE staff did a phenomenal job connecting aspects of the battle to our jobs as leaders of the Brigade.” –MIDN REAGAN QUILTY ’24 “GLE made me realize that I am the driving force behind midshipmen development, and not just on my team. Because of the rank that I will wear all year, I will have a greater effect on my underclassmen than my other classmates, and I have a duty to help any and all midshipmen achieve the mission of USNA.” –MIDN KATIE GOLBRANSON ’24
“Through NAWN I have met mentors who each give valuable and unique advice on military service. The Network works to encourage a diverse group of midshipmen to strive to do great things in and out of service, women and men alike. Additionally, our mentoring events are midshipmenrun, which gives us the opportunity to organize and execute large events with many guests. This responsibility is where I have grown the most during my time as a midshipman.” –MIDN GABI SCHULTZ ’24 “Being a part of NAWN has provided me with an incredible community and sisterhood of support, challenged me as a follower and leader, and helped shift my paradigm regarding what it means to be a female service member.” –MIDN AUDREY GILLCRIST ’24
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
ST. BENEDICT’S PREPARATORY HIGH SCHOOL St. Benedict’s Preparatory high school provides select midshipmen an experiential leadership development opportunity in small unit leadership and mentorship responsibilities in a diverse and unfamiliar environment. St. Benedicts’ Prep is a co-ed Benedictine Catholic secondary school in Newark, NJ, serving approximately 600 students in grades 9-12, many of whom are underprivileged (2020 was the first year that St. Ben’s accepted female students). Approximately 30 midshipmen per year participate, honing their leadership skills, developing mentoring relationships with the students that often continue for many years, and gaining a better understanding of the vast array of social and cultural dynamics which they will likely encounter once they graduate and begin leading sailors and Marines. In May during Zero Block, midshipmen lead freshmen in their culminating event—a five-day hike on the Appalachian Trail. During third block, midshipmen spend one month with the incoming freshmen leading their indoctrination to the school. They spend the first week helping the staff and upper-class leadership team run an indoctrination period for the incoming freshmen. The following weeks are spent helping in the classrooms, mentoring students, and executing an experiential leadership development course for St. Benedicts’ similar to the plebe leadership course.
SISTERS ACADEMY OF NEW JERSEY Sisters Academy operates on a ten-month, extended-day school year model and provides support for preadolescent girls (grades 4–8). The program helps students realize their potential by using education and mentorship as their tools for success. Two to four midshipmen are invited to participate in professional training in experiential leadership via a combination of practical experience and guided reflection, which includes teaching the students STEM classes. As mentors and role models, these midshipmen strengthen their creative problem-solving skills, enhance their innovative thinking, and hone their ability to adapt to dynamic situations. Four midshipmen served as teachers and mentors at Sisters Academy in the summer of 2023.
“St. Ben’s taught me how to influence and bring motivation to the students. More importantly, it taught me how to be patient when leading a group of people. I had to find my own ways to influence those kids who were raised in difficult environments. To do this, I shared my personal life experience at the Academy and what I had to do to overcome challenges in my own life. I learned never to take things for granted.” –MIDN AYUSH PURI ’24
“Sisters Academy allowed me to develop my leadership skills outside of a military setting—to earn the girls’ trust and respect without having any legitimate authority over them. Like I learned in Luce Hall, leadership is a relationship. I taught character lessons along with STEM classes, trying to inspire the girls to seek a higher calling in service to others. It is an experience I will never forget.” –MIDN MEGAN McGRATH ’26
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
OUTDOOR ODYSSEY
NAVAL ACADEMY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE (NALC)
Founded by Major General T.S. Jones, USMC (Ret.), Outdoor Odyssey in Western Pennsylvania pairs area youth with high school mentors, providing these teams with a unique wilderness experience at the 500-acre Laurel Highland camp. Incorporating leadership skills, high adventure, and team-building into each week-long curriculum, Outdoor Odyssey sets the stage for a year of follow-on activity between the mentors and their teams. Individual and team resiliency lies at the core of everything they do. Midshipmen spend the first week leading high schoolers from Florida, serving as counselors and platoon commanders and concluding with a militarystyle Crucible experience. The remainder of the time is dedicated to training high school seniors to be mentors for younger at-risk middle schoolers who spend summer days at the camp. Approximately 25 college-age counselors work at Outdoor Odyssey each summer, several of whom are NROTC students. Seven midshipmen were selected to serve as counselors and mentors at the camp in the summer of 2023.
From 22-25 January 2023, the midshipmen NALC team, in concert with the Stockdale Center, hosted 366 external delegates from more than 79 schools for the annual conference, including 29 international cadets and midshipmen from 12 different countries. One hundred midshipmen additionally served as delegates. The theme for NALC 2023 was Returning with Honor: Trials to Triumph, which focused on the experiences of the nearly 500 Vietnam War prisoners of war. Panels included Strength through Adversity: The League of Wives, A Flag Officer’s View: The Front Line to the Home Front, and Boots to Business: Prior Military to Business. The Forrestal Lecture was given by three POWs in a panel format, featuring Commander Everett Alavarez, USN (Ret.), Captain Charlie Plumb ’64, USN (Ret.), and Rear Admiral Rob Shumaker ’56, USN (Ret.). Other speakers of note included Major General Charles Bolden ’68, USMC (Ret.), Rear Admiral Margaret Klein ’81, USN (Ret.), Brigadier General Rhonda Cornum, USA (Ret.), and Mr. John Crowley, CEO of Amicus Therapeutics.
“Outdoor Odyssey helped me reflect on what type of officer I want to be and taught me that leadership is all about relationships with others. It showed me the importance of humility and genuine concern, which create respectful and caring leader-follower relationships. I also learned how contagious energy can be and how that reflected back to my campers.” –MIDN NICOLE ROSENFELD ’25
“Leading NALC strengthened my organizational and logistical skills while developing key working relationships among different teams to realize a vision that required everyone’s best abilities and teamwork.” –MIDN CHARLIE SEWELL ’23
“Outdoor Odyssey not only armed me with a multitude of leadership tools, but it also gave me the opportunity to practice using them immediately. I still use many of the philosophies that I learned at camp in my daily life and teach them to every single unit that I have had the opportunity to lead at the Academy.” –MIDN JORDAN CORPUZ ’24 “From the moment I arrived on the mountain at Outdoor Odyssey, I was challenged to lead and develop young adults in high-intensity situations. Additionally, working as a counselor with ROTC students from other colleges opened my eyes to the connections I will make once I enter the fleet. I know that I am a stronger and more confident leader due to my time on the mountain.” –MIDN REAGAN QUILTY ’24
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2022-2023 IMPACT REPORTS
Center for Experiential Leadership Development
NL425 ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP COURSE
COMBINED ELD–IPO BATTLE SITES LREC
Engineering leadership (NL425), is offered by the Aerospace Engineering Department as an upperlevel humanities course to better prepare students for leadership and project management roles in a more technical and experiential environment. During the practical application projects, which seek to replicate a technical environment, students are expected to display project management and technical leadership skills while working in teams. In order to achieve this objective, NL425’s curriculum addresses three areas: leading engineers’ teams, leading engineers’ work, and leading engineers’ innovation. The course provides instruction using lectures, reading assignments, classroom discussion, group projects, and various experiential learning activities with content that focuses on the following themes: communication, team dynamics, leadership styles, creativity, and project management. The course is currently taught by Captain Ken Reightler ’73, USN (Ret.), a former NASA astronaut.
Combined IPO–ELD LREC battlefield trips provide select midshipmen an opportunity to interact with foreign overseas cultures and the history of U.S. diplomatic and military involvement before, during, and after various conflicts in order to instill broadened understanding of cross-cultural dynamics within a conflict setting. There was no ELD-IPO battlefield trip during 2023. The Center for ELD is planning a summer 2024 battlefield study to the Solomon Islands that was approved by the International Programs Office.
THANK YOU Donor-funded ELD programs are essential to bring transformative experiences to midshipmen so that they can take on modern leadership challenges. Thanks to your support, the Naval Academy continues to create strong leaders and shapes midshipmen into the dedicated future officers they will become. ELD website: https://www.usna.edu/CELD/ELD_Programs/ Instagram: navy_eld
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