MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Two recent MTSU graduates were among four commissioned as U.S. Air Force second lieutenants during the recent spring 2021 ceremony for Air Force ROTC Detachment 790 held at Middle Tennessee State University.

The outdoor, in-person event sponsored by MTSU’s Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center took place Saturday, May 15, at the Veterans Memorial adjacent to the Tom H. Jackson Building, with the newly commissioned officers  experiencing  a formal sendoff as they await their Air Force careers.

Detachment 790, with a long history of being housed in Kean Hall at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, includes students from MTSU and other Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky colleges and universities.

“The Air Force just got better,” said Lt. Col. Nick D. Callaway, professor of Aerospace Studies at TSU, who provided opening and closing comments. “The leadership shown by these young men and women in their time here was nothing short of extraordinary. They will make great leaders and phenomenal officers.”

MTSU Department of Aerospace alumni Kendra Pomeroy of Milford and Paxton, Massachusetts, and Jack McPherson of Sharpsburg, Georgia, who graduated May 8, and two more commissionees were joined by family and friends at the ceremony, which included Oath of Office, First Salute, presentation of the new lieutenants and introduction by cadet Danyssa Diseker.

Pomeroy, who had a 3.3 GPA, earned her degree in aviation management. She commissioned as an aircraft maintenance officer. Her active duty will begin in Charleston, South Carolina.

“It definitely was a challenge, trying to balance school and traveling to TSU once a week,” she said. “I learned a lot — what I needed to learn to be a leader.” Pomeroy left Massachusetts to pursue MTSU’s aerospace program.

McPherson, who had a 3.58 GPA, earned his degree in the professional pilot concentration. He commissioned as an intelligence officer and his active duty will start in San Angelo, Texas.

“This has been amazing,” he said. “The camaraderie. Amazing cadre (Air Force faculty). When COVID hit, I was comforted that I had a job with the Air Force. I got to meet generals and high-ranking personnel, things a normal college student would not get to do.”

Also commissioned were:

Erich Brundage of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a recent Tennessee Technological University graduate with a degree in civil engineering (transportation engineering concentration). He commissioned as a remotely piloted aircraft pilot.

Asia Grant of Atlanta, Georgia, a recent Vanderbilt University graduate with an English degree and minor in Japanese language and cultural studies. She commissioned as a cyberspace operations officer.