CYNTHIA R GONYEA – CLASS OF 1974

CYNTHIA R GONYEA – CLASS OF 1974

Gonyea, Cynthia R.

Fall, 1973 – In a milestone event in ROTC history, Cadet Cynthia R Gonyea was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel yesterday afternoon in a ceremony held at Oakland Gym.  The promotion entitles Cadet Gonyea to become the first woman to become a Commander of an ROTC unit on any U.S. college campus.

Women’s ROTC, in its second year in the U.S. and its first year at Western, has attracted only five coeds this year.  Gonyea is the only woman in her class of 61.

Her evaluation by her fellow cadets weighed very heavily in her being selected to the position. 

Her fellow cadets evaluated her as being their choice for the number one cadet in the program.  Her academic record supported this choice and she proved to be the highest in this category also.

Her evaluation is a means by which the cadets can assess each other’s leadership abilities and Cadet Gonyea was again selected in the top of her class.

She has been a leader in Western’s ROTC during her three and a half years at college.  She is currently captain of the Rifle Team and V.P. of the Cadet Chapter of the U.S. Army.

In a reaction after the ceremony, Gonyea said, “she was pleased with the promotion and hopes to make the cadets work together as a team.”

“The fact that I’m a woman” said Gonyea, “has not prevented me from participating in any ROTC activities.”  In an afterthought, Gonyea admitted push-ups to be particularly difficult, however, she has engaged in events ranging from regular classroom activities to field training exercises.

Gonyea became involved in the ROTC in hopes of becoming a WAC with the ultimate goal of working for the state department in a diplomatic role.

In her new position as Cadet Commander, she will be in charge of the following promotions: cadet council; field training exercises; cadet recruiting; ROTC field day; the physical training test; the annual Cadet Ball; the awards ceremony and the cadet staff.