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(dramatic music) - Welcome to beautiful Vermont in the Northeast United States where I'm standing on the grounds of Norwich University, America's first and oldest private military college. Founded in 1819, no other university combines two centuries of military tradition with a population of civilian college students all sharing one campus. I'm taking you behind the scenes of this legendary university to show you the campus, the traditions, and most importantly, what life is like here as a student at the nation's first and oldest private military college.
(dramatic music) (Rooks chanting) - We create educated, strong, true Americans. (Rooks yelling) They're ready for the challenges and the opportunities that we have in front of us. (dramatic music) (gentle music) - 206 years ago, US Army Captain Alden Partridge had an idea. What if you mixed military training with civilian education to shape what he called the citizen soldier. Well, from that idea came Norwich University, the birthplace of ROTC, and the foundation for countless leaders who have served our country ever since. And today, here at Norwich, that mission continues to live on in two distinct paths,
the Corps of Cadets and the civilian student body, all sharing this incredibly unique and picturesque campus in the Green Mountains of Vermont. - So Norwich University is a campus that's made up of two different lifestyles. We've been anchored in our Corps of Cadets, educating our students in a military lifestyle, but we add in this civilian component, and it's about 50/50 right now. We have about, you know, half of our student body is in the Corps of Cadets, half are civilian, and they come together in this really vibrant lifestyle in the classroom, on the academic field, in all of the extracurricular activities that we do.
- The lifestyles are pretty integrated between the Corps of Cadets and civilians. We sit next to each other in class, we sit next to each other at the dining hall, at sporting events, extracurriculars, so it is very intertwined. The only difference might be sometimes when the day's over, civilians are going to extracurriculars, whereas the cadets are going to their ROTC classes, or maybe they have a specific military-related event that they have to participate in, but I'd say 90% of the day we are pretty intertwined. (intense music) - The Corps of Cadets represents a unique lifestyle to achieve a college education in.
(cadet vocalizing) You know, when you spend four years knowing you still gotta get up, put a uniform on, wear it the right way, go to formations, march down to football games, go to physical fitness, maintain a certain set of standards, that degree of discipline, that degree of regimentation appeals to some people. - The reason that we have successful military officers coming out of the Corps of Cadets are the same reason we have really successful people in all walks of life coming out of the Corps of Cadets. They've learned about leadership, how to develop character in themselves, and self-discipline, they learn time management.
Essentially, they learn the building blocks of success. (intense music) (cadet vocalizing) It is a great environment to test all those things, to get feedback on all of those things, and try to become the person that you aspire to be. - We've got all three branches of ROTC here, so the Navy and Marine Corps. We've got Army ROTC, and then we've got the Air Force and now Space Force, so we cover the gamut. (upbeat music) We also have a Coast Guard Auxiliary Program that allows future Coast Guard Officers to train in a separate, not ROTC, but a separate program to become a Coast Guard Officer.
(upbeat music continues) - A common misconception of joining the Norwich Corp of Cadets is that you might be required to serve in the military after your four years here. That's not true, and it's not true if you even join any of the ROTC programs. You aren't required, however, a lot of our cadets end up joining the military after their time here. (upbeat music continues) - [Cadet] Run, bravo! - Move it! - Set. - Now here at Norwich, you don't just show up and immediately become a part of the Corps of Cadets. You start as a Rook.
(upbeat music) The newest members of the Corps are at the very bottom of the hierarchy. It's a title that comes with strict rules, tough expectations, and a lifestyle unlike anything most college freshmen could imagine. From the way you wear your uniform, to how to keep your room clean, to the way you greet upperclassmen, every single detail matters. (upbeat music continues) (razor buzzing) Now the journey to becoming a full-fledged member of the Corps of Cadets actually kicks off before the academic year even begins in what's known as Rook Week, a seven-day crash course into the military lifestyle that pushes you physically, mentally, and sets the tone for everything that comes next.
(cadets yelling) - Rook stands for recruit. You're not yet a part of the Corps of Cadets. You've gotta almost prove yourself to be a part of that. Rookdom is an immersive experience from day one. You get up at five in the morning and you go out and you PT every day. You have to live a very regimented lifestyle. You have to wear your uniform a certain way. (upbeat music) - Whenever they get to a corner, they'll have to do a facing movement, whether it's a left face, right face, an about face.
They have to greet everyone that they know. They are not allowed to go on their phones. They are only authorized one, 10-minute phone call every week. In our main dining hall, they have to sit upstairs and they have to eat at attention. They can't look around, they can't have small talk. It's building this professional development that they wouldn't get anywhere else. - It teaches you how to give of yourself to a broader organization, how to follow, and then as you get to the later stages, you're learning how to then lead. So Rook Week is that initial orientation.
It's when you leave your past life behind and you go through a pretty intense first week here at Norwich and it culminates with something that is very special and that's the Dog River Run. (upbeat music) - Take my arm. - When we first started planning this Norwich video, everyone said, "You've gotta see Dog River Run." I said, "What the heck is Dog River Run?" Well, this is Dog River Run. ♪ Saturday night I was downtown ♪ ♪ Working for the FBI ♪ - It's the culminating event of Rook Week and one of the longest-standing traditions here at Norwich.
For decades, every single class of Rooks have come to these fields into this river. It's part initiation, part right of passage, and today I'm suited up, ready to go through it with these Rooks. Let's see what they're made of. ♪ Full of people who are doing wrong ♪ (Rooks vocalizing) ♪ Just about to call up the D.A. man ♪ - This is heavy, man. - Essentially is our tradition That culminates the end of Rook Week, right, so to kick things off, we start off with physical training.
♪ A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes ♪ - The high intensity tempo is just to build stress, right. We're trying to build resilience through the stress. ♪ She was a long cool woman in a black dress ♪ - Then after PT, all the platoons, they form up together and they go through the worm pits. That is kind of like the appetizer before we go into the Dog River, where you know, it ends this day. (upbeat music) (Rooks chanting) - Like many things, the Dog River Run has become a tradition. It wasn't always a tradition.
(scene swooshing) (upbeat music continues) We didn't do the Dog River Run when I was here. We got into the Dog River to break in our old leather boots and all the rest, but it wasn't that big motivational effort that you see today. (Rooks chattering) (upbeat music) What it's become is that culmination of that tough week that you just went through. - Yay! (upbeat music continues) ♪ Charlie said, I hope that you're able, boy ♪ - It's a wonderful way for young people to learn how to take a group of people, build them into a team, educate them, give them certain skills, build their confidence so that sometime near the end of the first semester, or the beginning of the second, we can put our stamp and say,
"That person is now a Norwich Cadet." - Go down. (upbeat music continues) (cadet yells) You're gonna come up. (metal clanking) - Fire. (cannon fire booming) - So phase one, PT is now complete. The energy out here, it's electric, definitely a bit tired, but I gotta lock in 'cause next up is the worm pits. (upbeat rock music) (water spraying) (Rooks yelling and chanting) - Let's go! (Rooks yelling continues) Go! (Rooks yelling continues)
Take an arm! (Rook yelling) (Rooks cheering) (upbeat rock music continues) (Rooks chanting) - [All] D1, D1, D1, D1, D1. - Whoo! - All the way, down the river. Let's go! (Rooks chanting) Let's go! (Rooks chanting) - [Cadet] You're doing it. (Rooks chanting) (bugle trumpeting) (Rooks chanting continues) - [Cadet] Let's go, Delta One! - [Rooks] Don't wait forever. (chanting) Memories will fade now through the changing years. Don't wait forever, through rain and shine, sunset and morning till we are lighting into we are in victory, we shall declare, I got the spirit, I passed the test.
- Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, let's go. (footsteps pounding) Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. (footsteps pounding) (Rooks chattering) - Ranger, hey. Hey. - From 1960. If you find one of those, keep it. It's really cool, understood? - [Rooks] Yes, sir. - Find your rock, let's go. - [Rooks] Yes, sir. (upbeat jazzy music) - PT station's now complete, worm pits are behind us, now these Rooks have earned the right to take on the final challenge.
This is the Dog River, and once they make it to the end, they'll have completed a rite of passage, one that connects them to every single Rook class who's come before them. (Rooks vocalizing) (upbeat jazzy music continues) I'm looking for the best rock. - So as the Rooks maneuver through the river, they're asked to find a rock. - Come on Wade, find, it ain't yours. - [Cadet Moise] That rock is gonna be a monumental thing to them, right? It's supposed to envision their transformation from where they first came into Norwich, and then the culmination of all the arduous training
that they've been to up until this point. (Rooks vocalizing) - I've got my own Dog River rock. It's on the other side of the desk there and now I've got three more being the commandant here 'cause I run it with new Rooks. - All right, I think I'm gonna go with this one right here. I like the texture, I like the colors. Might be on the smaller end, but I gotta travel home with it, so thinks this will do the job. Why'd you choose this one? - 'Cause it's big and it's very nice. - So you think that'd make it harder going through this training with that, but you like the challenge though.
- Here at Norwich, the better the challenge, the better the dream. (water splashing) (cadet grunting) (cadets laughing) Oh, God. - The better the fall, right? - The better the fall, then you get back right up. (upbeat music) (cadets vocalizing) (water splashing) (upbeat music continues) (cadets yelling) - [Cadets] Norwich forever, we are the hills. (upbeat music continues) - You guys know what a sugar cookie is? You're about to find out. - E1, get on your back. - [Cadets] Yes, sir!
- Belly. Back. - [Cadet] Let's go! Move it! (cadet yelling) (Rooks yelling) (Rooks cheering) (Rooks chanting) - Hey, Delta One, I just wanna say thank you so much for letting me hang out with you. I think there's a reason they paired me with the best platoon out here, huh? - [Rooks] Yeah! - Yeah! - I know this is the end of one challenge and you're about to start another with the academic year, so I just wanna say thank you again,
and Delta One, what did we do? (Rooks yelling) Hit it. Let's go! (cadets cheering) (gentle music) - Our motto here at Norwich is "I will try." - [Cadets] I will try. - It represents a grit to say I'm gonna step outside of my own boundaries right now. (cadets vocalizing) You know, somebody that's coming to an institution like this and get challenged with the saying "I will try" as the whole reason for why you're here and what you're doing. (gentle music continues)
(pensive music) Welcome, everybody, to our 2025 new Student Oath Ceremony. This is a very revered tradition here at Norwich. A lot of traditions come and go, but this is one that has stood the test of time. - You gotta turn high school folks into Rooks, you turn Rooks into cadets, and you turn cadets into citizens and leaders. That's the process. - You're about to take an oath to our way of life. This is not something to be taken lightly. You are now pledging to yourself to follow the ethos of this school.
(gentle music) - Today these recruits will swear to the principals that will come to define who they are and who they strive to become, and your completion of Rook Week signifies that you are ready for that challenge. Moving forward, continue with your head held high and do not be afraid to seek help. In summary, stay the course. Recruits, it's now time to administer the oath and to continue your training into the next phase. - It's a group of people that have to figure out how do they operate most effectively together. - Recruits, raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I, state your full name. - [Recruits] I (vocalizing). - Will henceforth strive. - [Recruits] Will henceforth strive. - [Cadet] To live by the Norwich Creed. - [Recruits] To live by the Norwich Creed. - [Cadet] And to uphold the tradition. - [Recruits] And to uphold the tradition. - [Cadet] Of my alma mater. - [Recruits] Of my alma mater. - [Cadet] In all my endeavors. - [Recruits] In all my endeavors.
- [Cadet] From this day forth. - [Recruits] From this day forth. - [Cadet] I will reflect the spirit. - [Recruits] I will reflect the spirit. - [Cadet] Of the Norwich motto. - [Recruits] Of the Norwich motto. - [Cadet] I will try! - [Recruits] I will try! (gentle music) (drums beating) - Left, left, left, right. - It's been a whirlwind of a day here for these Rooks that started at 5:30 this morning, and with the Oath Ceremony now complete, it officially marks the end of Rook Week. While that chapter is closed, the real test is just beginning,
making it through the incredibly rigorous academic year, and that's where our story continues, 'cause just like these Rooks, our journey here at Norwich University has only just begun. - We are an institution of higher learning. What happens with the Corps of Cadets is incredibly important, but what also happens in the classroom is equally important. (upbeat music) Here at Norwich, we have 38 majors, 42 minors. - So I study environmental science and my initial decision to do that was from high school, and coming up here in Vermont where we're surrounded by such beautiful scenery, beautiful forests,
it's the best place to study it. - We also have graduate education. We have some programs that are offered on campus, architecture and nursing, but we also have a very robust online educational platform. When you come to Norwich, you're going to be known. Our classroom ratio is 16:1. That's important because your education then can be fitted to who you are as a person, how you wanna be challenged, and also what you're interested in doing. - The academic side of Norwich is spectacular. The faculty, from my experience, have always just been willing to go the extra mile.
- They're always available for help. They have open office hours. - The classes are really small. It allows the students and faculty to get to know each other and actually work together, so it's really an environment that is conducive to working through some of the challenges in academics, but also just striving to figure out how you're going to use your degree once you graduate. (upbeat jazzy music) - Some of the facilities here that assist with academic education, but also experiential learning, it's on-site, so Mack Hall, which is a state-of-the-art facility, it has an amazing amphitheater.
We have something called the War Room and the Digital Forensics Lab. We have a new building that's being built, the Cyber Fusion Center, and this is gonna be a building that's designed specifically for the cyber space, which translates just unique opportunities and educational opportunities for our students, as well as our research. - So I was just given a copy of the schedule for a typical day in the life of a Rook here at Norwich and it's pretty crazy. It starts with wake up at 0500, so 5:00 AM, followed by physical training from 5:15 to 6:15, then personal hygiene, uniform change, and reveille formation at 7:30. Then they go to breakfast. Then you have academic classes for the entire morning
and afternoon, followed by second mess, which is lunch. Then you've got varsity, club sports, student activities, Ceremonial and Specialty Unit training, followed by third mess, which is dinner. Then you've got study time finally before lights out, which they call taps, at 21:30, which is 9:30 PM. - We wake up in the morning for PT. We're college students in the daytime. We go back to training, we do homework, then we stay up, do more homework and do whatever is required of us, uniform readiness, rack readiness, everything, and we do it all over again.
We choose to do it for four years. (upbeat music) We're not asking you to fail, we're not asking you to succeed, all we're asking, every single day you wake up, you try, whether it's I will try to finish my homework today, I will try to not mess up my greetings, I will try to salute every officer I pass today, just that little sentiment of trying is the best thing that anyone could give a cadet. Buy into it, put everything into it you have you, you'll come out fine. (upbeat music continues) - There definitely can be misconceptions to being a civilian student at a senior military college.
One of the biggest ones that's asked is, "Why are you here?" Being able to be surrounded by students who have a level of self-discipline and professionalism that I want to also have. When I look at Norwich, and especially the alumni connection, even for civilians, there's alumni who've been in the military and have since retired or left the service, but they still want to give back, and that alumni connection, offering students both in the Corps of Cadets and civilians, an opportunity to step out into the workforce in those advanced areas is something that I haven't seen anywhere else. - So I'm now standing outside of the Wise Campus Center, one of the newer buildings here at Norwich that serves as the main social hub.
(upbeat music) In here, you'll find the university bookstore, mail room, lounges, meeting rooms, and most importantly, the campus dining hall, or as they call it, the chow hall. Which speaking of, these campus videos can be pretty exhausting to film and I'm hungry, so I say we go test out the food here at Norwich 'cause if I was considering coming to a university like this, that's the first thing I'd wanna find out. (upbeat music continues) (students chattering)
- [Cadets] Good evening, sir. - Good evening. Excited to join you. So I'm here with the Rooks of Foxtrot Company Second Platoon and I've got a question. How is the food here in Norwich? - [Cadets] Outstanding, sir. (upbeat music continues) (students chattering) - So Cadet Staff Sergeant Gagne is a squad leader here. You're a junior. Can you kind of explain this whole eating process. I guess the Rooks have to be at attention. Is that throughout the entire year?
- Yeah, so until the Rooks here are recognized and they finally become cadets, they eat at attention, so their heels are together. You can see that they are sitting at the edges of their chairs. Their hands lay flat on their thighs until they are ready to eat something and they return there and then they start chewing until they're, they stay there until they swallow. - Well, for the viewers watching, I've got pulled pork, pulled chicken. Take the first bite. Honestly, it's pretty good.
Respect Norwich. (upbeat music continues) So with the chow hall rush now complete, I wanted to bring you to a pretty special spot here on campus. This is the Class of 1959 Bridge, which serves as the connection between the upper parade ground where the Corps of Cadets reside in South Hall, where the two civilian dormitories are located. Now, two of the most notable individuals from the Class of 1959, one went on to become the President of NBC, and the other became the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and that's what this bridge is here to symbolize,
the connection between the civilian and military lifestyles, and no matter what route you take here at Norwich University, the opportunities are endless. (upbeat music) - Yeah, so here on the UP, we have eight Corps of Cadets dorm buildings. We're in a Rook barracks right now, which there are four of those. This is Dalyrmple Hall, it's our biggest hall on campus. Most of the rooms are set up as triples, but there's a couple quads in there too.
This is one of our Rook barracks rooms. As you can see, everything's really neat and tidy and clean. That's the key part of Rookdum is being clean. Rooks keep their shoes up on the top shelf here, aligned to the front as best as they can, shoe laces tucked in. You can see this is a Rook rack. All of these hospital corners have to be at a 45 degree angle and the sheet has to be flat underneath. - So you guys actually sleep on these beds and then every morning you remake 'em?
- Theoretically. Most of us will make it and then try to keep it as neat as we can for as long as we can, but you know, you have to go to bed at some point, so you just kind of huddle up. - If you guys didn't catch that, that's not just Rooks. All four years you guys are having these beds made nicely. - Yeah, Monday, Wednesday, Friday we have this, which is called a white collar, specific dimensions too for this section right here, and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays we have a dust cover where we take the yellow blanket, we put it over the pillow and tuck it in.
- And are there room inspections that happen weekly, daily? - So for a Rook, they happen almost daily. A squad leader or a platoon sergeant will come and peek in their room, make sure that everything's clean and tidy. Thursdays are our big room inspections where everyone gets inspected across the Corps. - So rate this room for me right now. Is it passing inspection? - Oh, definitely. - Is that 'cause we're here filming? - Well, as a Rook, yes, of course. It's always inspection-ready.
Upperclassmen, different lifestyle for sure. (upbeat music) So as you can see, this is one of our upperclassmen rooms. Things are a little bit different in these rooms as compared to a Rook room. Like a Rook room though, we still have to have our beds SOPed, so this morning we have a white collar on. Sometimes we'll put the dust cover on. So another difference is that we're allowed to have civilian clothes, so in this particular wall locker, we have all of our civilian clothes, whereas in the other wall locker, we may keep all of our uniforms, still SOPed the exact same way the Rook room was. As we go back here, you can see we have a fridge and that's dependent on your year
because you get different privileges every year, so starting sophomore year, you can have like a hot water pot for making coffee in the morning, you get one flag, that kind of thing, and then by the end of your senior year, you can have a fridge, a microwave, a hot water pot, two flags, a poster. Things get a lot nicer, yeah. - These are the things like every college student just assumes they're gonna have in their dorm, and for you guys it's privileges every year. Make it one more year, you get a fridge, another year is a coffee pot. - Exactly, and you have to check 'cause you never know what's gonna update and change.
- Now someone who went to a military academy myself, I am all too familiar with the number of uniforms you are issued as a cadet. If you can't tell already, it is a lot. On one hand, it's pretty nice to know what you have to wear to school every single day, but on the other hand, making sure they're neat and tidy and fit, can be worn at a moment's notice, now that is a little bit challenging. (upbeat music) - Here at Norwich University, we have a lot of uniforms for a lot of different purposes, starting with our PT uniform.
Our full PT uniform consists of a long-sleeved jacket and long pants. PT stands for physical training. Moving on to our Rook OCPs. Our Rook OCPs consist of our name tape and their no-rank insignia. Moving on to our Super Summer Bs. We wear them every single day except for Wednesdays. In the winter months, we move on to our winter Super Summer Bs. Super Summer Bs are still worn every single day except Wednesday. Our underclassmen wear full gray tunic and our upperclassmen wear salt and peppers. On special occasions, we add in our full regalia with our red sash. And last but not least,
we have my favorite uniform, our Blues. Our Blues consist of our top coat tee and white pants, and for females, there's a white skirt option. You wear your Blues for the most special occasions, like Regimental Ball or any of the military balls that happen on campus. We also wear them when we do volunteer service off campus for very special occasions. - Now a common phrase you'll hear here at Norwich is that the Corps runs the Corps, and what that really means is that the cadet regimen isn't just for show.
Students are the ones training, leading, and holding each other accountable. Every rank, every formation, every tradition you see is driven by the cadets, and within that system, some cadets take things a step further, joining unique Specialty Units that keep some of Norwich's most time-honored traditions alive. (gentle music) - So at Norwich, we have two very distinct special groups of cadets here. We have our Specialty and our Ceremonial Units. Our Specialty Units include the Mountain Cold Weather Company, the Norwich Artillery Battery, and the Ranger Company.
- So Mountain Cold Weather, it's an Army ROTC program that we allow other cadets to come in and partake in. They learn what it's like to see the Army challenge themselves in difficult environments so that they can still achieve their mission, but it goes way beyond that. Our Norwich Artillery Battery, you learn how to fire an artillery piece, but it's more than that, it's bringing that team together to do it the right way. It's not just, you know, pulling a lanyard and firing the battery. - They learn from the army cadre how those howitzers work, how to move 'em, how to clean 'em, how to make sure that they're safely utilized.
Another confidence builder. (cannon fire booming) - For those who seek more opportunity to learn in something they're interested in, whether they want to go infantry in the Army, they might join the Ranger Company. We have some Marine options that are in the Ranger Company. Anyone who wants that extra developmental opportunity, they might join those programs. - It's for those students who have more to give. Basic ROTC, they're left hungry for more. They want to give of their time, they want to be extra challenged, they wanna learn skills beyond what they normally get,
and the Ranger Company is a great spot for them to do that. (cadets vocalizing) - Our Ceremonial Units, which include our band, our Cavalry Unit, and our Drill Team are also extremely strong resources and they help us with all of our events here. (gentle music) - So Norwich has the nation's oldest collegiate marching band. We're very, very proud of that. But it's steeped in a lot of tradition. We've marched in a number of inaugurations, and a huge sense of pride in standing up there on the podium near the President watching the Norwich Band march by in the presidential inauguration and that's the history of this band.
That wasn't the first and it won't be the last. So we also have our Calvary Troop. Norwich is a calvary school. - And it is a huge way that people can develop and build confidence to spend time with an animal, know how to communicate with it, know how to saddle it, know how to bridle it, know how to feed it, know how to care for it, check its hooves, all of those things. It's another way to develop leaders of character. And then we've got our Drill Team, recently inducted into the US Drill Hall of Fame. That's how they show their love for the school, spending a lot of time practicing those drill moves
and looking for perfection. Looking to find, we're at 99%, how do we get to 100? Looking after all the fine details. So Cavalry speaks to a group, the band speaks to a group, and our Drill Team speaks to a group. - From the Rook experience to the Corps of Cadets, to the thriving civilian student population, tradition and opportunity run deep here at Norwich, but there's one symbol that ties it all together, the maroon and gold colors and the Norwich logo at the heart of it all. This logo represents the pride and spirit of this university and nowhere is that pride felt more than where we're headed next, so get ready for Norwich Athletics.
(dramatic music) - Here at Norwich, athletics are critically important. (upbeat music) ♪ Right ♪ - 35% of our student body participate in varsity athletics, so you know, physical culture and training really underpins everything we do here on a regular basis. (upbeat music continues) ♪ Hey ♪ - [Scott] So we have 23 varsity teams competing in Division III athletics, and that includes over 600 athletes. ♪ Who here's knocking down the door ♪ (upbeat music continues) (singer vocalizing) - [Scott] Norwich Hockey is probably the most well-known, six national championships, four on the men's side, two on the women's.
♪ Hey ♪ - We've had great success here over the years with our hockey programs. (crowd cheering) There's 16 club sports at the time, ranging from airsoft to ski and snowboard, to the power lifting club. Intramurals kind of go by students' interest and those change from year to year. (upbeat music) (singer vocalizing) ♪ You better believe I'm ready ♪ (singer vocalizing continues) ♪ Better believe I'm ready ♪ - Some of the notable facilities at Norwich include Kreitzberg Arena, where our hockey teams play, Andrews Hall with our basketball gyms, the Goodyear Pool, Sabine Field, our turf football field, which we also play other sports on, 1,200 seating capacity.
We have the Shaw Center, which is our outdoor playground. We have 1,000 acres of land over there with multi-use trails for biking, skiing, hiking, you name it. And our rugby pitch now, which we call the Graveyard Pitch, one of the nicest rugby pitches in the country, and that's where our national championship-level women's and men's rugby teams play. Here at Norwich, the physical culture, or physical education is really built into everything we do here. From the Corps of Cadets to athletics, everyone is doing some sort of physical training.
I'd say that our students do more before 6:00 AM than most college students do all day. (alumni chatting and laughing) - So our alumni parade is designed to welcome home our union classes, (intense music) those from the years ending in five and zero from the class we're in now, and what that will do is we will all march out on Sabine Field, then the alumni will march right past us in their own formations, they'll go up onto the stage and watch the rest of our ceremony. (gentle music) (people chattering) (gentle music continues) - Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Norwich University and beautiful Northfield Vermont.
Today's parade is in honor of all our alumni and to also pay tribute to those alumni who have passed before us, leaving a legacy of service to our nation, to their communities, and to their families. We begin by welcoming our oldest alumnus attending today, Gene Ward, class of 1949. Welcome home to Norwich for your 76th anniversary, sir. (crowd applauding and cheering) - It's a small team in a small town that brings a huge crowd of alumni and supporters into this beautiful little stadium and watching some really good hardnosed football, especially at this time of year
when alumni are coming back for homecoming. (crowd clapping and cheering) - Now, when you first clicked on this video, I bet you had no idea that a private military college located in the mountains of Vermont would have a college football program like this. (upbeat music) (cadets yelling) Welcome to Sabine Field, home of Norwich Football, and if you didn't think a Division III school would have a strong fan base, take a look behind me. (upbeat music) (players vocalizing) This also happens to be the homecoming game to cap off alumni week here at Norwich, which means hundreds of graduates back in attendance to celebrate their alma mater, reconnect with old classmates
and cheer on the cadets to victory. - There's always a lot of energy at the games. We get a lot of people involved and it's always intense and it makes you proud to be part of Norwich and to be there at the football games. (cadets yelling) (cheerleaders chanting and yelling) (cannon fire booming) (cadets yelling) (upbeat music continues) - Now, if you aren't impressed with Norwich yet, just wait because we've got one more surprise in store. Here at Military Academies, pre-game flyovers are a big deal. What we've got coming up soon is just about the coolest thing out there.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but get ready for the B-2 Stealth Bomber. (crowd vocalizing) - [Crowd Member] Whoa. (crowd chattering) Hey. (laughing) (B-2 Stealth Bomber roaring) - [LtGen Broadmeadow] What makes Norwich so special is how personal it becomes. - Because of you and because of these coaches, and because of our alumni, I get to call my dad and I can tell him. (all clapping and cheering) - You come here either as a Rook or as a civilian student, and you get into this environment that immerses you in an education, and that creates a bond. (gentle music) It creates a bond with your classmates. It creates a bond with the dorms, the barracks that you live in, the environment here.
(cadets clapping) But more importantly, it creates a bond with the ethos and the values that are Norwich University. (reflective music) This oath represents a commitment to this university, to your fellow students, and most importantly, to yourself and who you want to be. - I wanted to see that I could challenge myself, that I could grow, and especially that I could become a leader and help others, and Norwich provided that for me. I'm honored to stand here today to administer the Cadet Oath to the Military College of Vermont, Class of 2029. - And you may not think about it when you graduate, but they realize after a while that you took from this school more than just an education,
and that's what makes Norwich very special. (inspirational music) (crowd vocalizing) - When you decide to come to Norwich, you're deciding to take on a challenge, whether it's in the Corps of Cadets, or as a civilian, and Norwich will test you, it will make you realize that life isn't easy and there are challenges, but Norwich gives you the tools to overcome them and allow you to grow. (inspirational music continues)
(crowd cheering) (all cheering) (people vocalizing) (all cheering) (people vocalizing) - [All] Be bolder. (gentle music) - I think the thing that makes it special is the comradeship that's developed and the fact that you're committed to one primary objective and that's serving your country as a graduate of this university. (inspirational music) - Well, that officially caps off our time here at Norwich University, and as I close out, I'm excited to be joined by Foxtrot Company. As I reflect back on my time here at this university, I keep going back to one phrase, their motto, "I will try."
It means doing the right thing, not when it's easy, but especially when it's hard. This is a small school, but with big opportunities, and I hope this video has opened up your eyes, just how special of a place it is. So that's it from here in the beautiful green Mountains of Vermont. Guys, you ready? - [All] Norwich forever! (cadets cheering) (gentle music)
