The Citadel honored four of its most outstanding cadets and two distinguished faculty members during the May 8 commencement ceremonies.

In a joint commissioning ceremony, members of the Class of 2021 accepted commissions into the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

In ’21, there are some unusual ties between the Mechanical and Civil Engineering programs: Two mechanical engineers, two civil engineers, four athletes and two musicians.

The Citadel honors some of its best and brightest with more than 60 awards, celebrating achievements in academics, leadership and service.

“I listened to my dad who said to enjoy the small things at The Citadel because when we look back those are going to be the big things. The past four years will be hard to beat.”

More than 560 cadets will graduate as members of The Citadel Class of at McAlister Field House.

“Christian views criticism as an opportunity for improvement and always strives for perfection. He may be one of the most outstanding cadets I have ever met.”

“The efforts of the cadets were an outward demonstration of honoring veterans who have served our country.”

De Los Santos, a Psychology major from Irmo, SC went up against 36 other cadets during The Citadel’s Star of the West competition.

Photo above: The United States Marine Corps used The Citadel campus over the summer as a medical staging area to quarantine new recruits headed to Parris Island boot camp for