Midland friends reflect on service academy experiences (Penn '26)
When Ryan Stadelmaier and River Penn would come home to Midland on break over the past four years, they were both glad to have a friend who could easily relate to the other’s experiences.
After going through Jefferson Middle School and Dow High School together, the two friends headed to distant parts of the country in 2022 — Stadelmaier to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Penn to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
On May 22, Penn graduated from the Naval Academy with a bachelor of science degree in operations research and was commissioned 10 minutes later as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is now attending The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, for officer training until mid-December.
Six days after his own ceremony, Penn was able to attend Stadelmaier’s graduation 1,660 miles away in Colorado Springs.
BZ '26!