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Letter to Our Contributors

Fall 2024

Dear Northwestern NROTC Alumni and Friends,

As a new class of midshipmen has enrolled with their upper-class shipmates in the Northwestern NROTC, there is strong evidence of the important role the Scholarship Fund plays in the Unit’s growing strength.  The Fall Unit enrollments in 2022 and 2023 were 18 and 22 respectively.  With the focused efforts of Unit CO Captain Edwards and his dedicated team over the past year, the Fall Unit enrollment for 2024 has increased 72% to 31 students. The projected incoming class is 4 1/C, 6 2/C, 9 3/C and 11 4/C as well as 1 MECEP.  The Unit’s qualitative assessment of this significant improvement is improved retention, an increase in numbers of matriculating scholarship students and a boost in College Program midshipmen.  Much of this improvement in recruitment and retention is considered an outgrowth of the Unit’s considerable effort to increase visibility of the program at both universities. Offering a program which is affordable to our midshipmen is also a key and essential factor.

In the Board’s Spring 2024 letter, attention of our loyal alumni and friends was invited to the greatly increased costs of higher education at the Unit’s component universities. While the Unit strives to increase recruitment and retention, it must do so by addressing the greatly increased cost impacting our midshipmen.  The NU NROTC Scholarship Fund is a principal tool which affords Captain Edwards and his staff the means of offsetting students’ financial impediments to pursuing a commission through the NROTC. The impressive increase in enrollment in the Unit’s College Program in particular demonstrates the importance of our Fund’s scholarship funding in meeting individual midshipmen financial challenges. Alumni and friends donations have been the key to this.

Alumni and friends are reminded that 100% of all donations to the Fund go to our midshipmen. All contributions are tax deductible. What is particularly important to note in the current economic environment, is that increased contributions to the Scholarship Fund are one of the strongest means of signaling commitment to the recruitment and retention of our finest youth in essential national service.  NU NROTC alumni and friends share in the recognition of the overriding importance of maintaining the highest quality dedicated leadership in our U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

With the recent passing of past long-term Unit commanding officer and Scholarship Fund Board president, Captain Vic Gulliver USN(Ret.), alumni and friends are urged to consider a generous gift to support enhanced midshipmen recruitment and retention.  As both the longest serving Unit commanding officer and still later as Scholarship Fund Board president, Vic’s enlightened and dedicated leadership made a significant difference in the lives of hundreds of midshipmen. Alumni and friends may honor his long service by a donation using either the enclosed form or through our website (www.nu-nrotc.org).

As in the past, the Board welcomes alumni updates using the enclosed form. These will be included in future Crow’s Nest articles and on the alumni website. Please also help in finding NU NROTC alums with whom we have lost contact so we can reach out to them.

Best Regards,
Anthony Fessler
NU, Class of 1970

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE FLORIDA DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) OR ONLINE AT www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com.  REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #: CH 5534.

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You!