ROTC cadet selected for George C. Marshall Award

By Sam Seaver, Chronicle staff

As a George C. Marshall Award recipient, senior Joseph Mac-kenzie attended the four-day National Security Seminar in Virginia. (Stan Sherer photo)

oseph Mackenzie, a senior in Sociology and Natural Resource Studies, was selected to participate in the National Security Seminar held April 15-18 in Lexington, Va., as the top cadet in the campus's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program.

      Mackenzie was presented with the George C. Marshall Award in recognition of his status as top cadet at an April 30 ceremony at the Minuteman Battalion spring awards ceremony in the Mullins Center. Approximately 65 other cadets received awards at the ceremony, which was attended by more than 140 people.

      The theme at this year's seminar, which took place at the Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University, was "Transformation of the International Security Environment and the Role of the U.S. Military." At the seminar, participants attended in roundtable discussions with senior military and government officials about the implications of recent world events in the Middle East, Far East, Africa and Israel. In addition, countering global terrorism and the new Homeland Security Act were discussed.

     "It was a real honor to receive this award," said Mackenzie. "The seminar in Virginia was a great experience and I really enjoyed meeting all the other recipients. The discussions I attended dealt with security in South East Asia and military ethics, and I really learned a lot."

      Mackenzie serves as cadet battalion commander, has been on the dean's list and is a member of Alpha Kappa Delta, a national honor society for sociology.