After months of preparation and years of training, the United States Merchant Marine Academy hosted its 89th Commencement ceremony on Monday, June 23.
The ceremony did not only honor the graduating cadets and their achievements, but also honored the decades-long history of USMMA, which has been around since 1943. The institution implemented the academy’s traditions and welcomed the 50-year legacy class, the Class of 1975, to the ceremony. The legacy class annually leads the graduating class of midshipmen into the ceremony.
The commencement ceremony speech was given by the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. After congratulating the graduating class for their strength and commitment to the academy, Duffy acknowledged some challenges the class has faced over the past four years.
“For years, this institution has been neglected by Congress,” Duffy said. “The campus has been allowed to fall into disrepair. It’s unbecoming of a national service academy.”
Duffy then went on to describe the specific challenges this class has faced: Covid-19 related shutdowns, lack of hot water, limited food supply, paper and plastic cutlery and mold-ridden dorm rooms. When he finished citing the list, Duffy said, “Congratulations, you have perseverance.”
After touring USMMA a few months ago, Duffy said he expected to find “dampened spirits” but instead found a “remarkable group of men and women whose spirits could not be broken.”
Duffy assured the USMMA graduates that the Trump administration is aware of their sacrifice and understands the importance of returning the academy to its former glory.
He then moved on from the graduates’ bravery in the past and began to speak on the bravery the midshipmen are about to embody as they enter the military workforce.
After graduating from USMMA with a Bachelor of Science degree, the midshipmen often enter jobs in maritime or military service.
“This mission you are about to embark on could not be more important,” Duffy said. “This very moment, when our nation stands on the precipice of potential conflict in the Middle East, whether it’s the Suez Canal or the South China Sea, there are rough waters ahead.”
On Saturday, June 21, the United States struck three nuclear sites in Iran. This action sparked a retaliatory missile attack on an American base in Qatar on Monday, the day of the graduation, and now a fragile cease-fire between Iran and Israel, which is very tenuous.
Before the midshipmen enter the workforce and potentially move on to serve the nation, Duffy offered some advice: Say yes to adventure, whether it be big or small, stop scrolling and start living, find the right person to marry and don’t let them go, work out and maintain high standards for yourself.
“When you raise the bar for yourself, something remarkable happens. You raise the bar for everyone around you. That’s what it means to be a true leader,” Duffy said.
From promises of better living conditions at USMMA to advice for the future, Duffy delivered a nearly 15-minute commencement speech for the 2025 USMMA graduation ceremony and left the midshipmen with one final piece of advice:
“Go out, work out, meet the love of your life and always keep the Merchant Marine Academy motto in your hearts forever: ‘Deeds, not words.’”
