“It was a wonderful evening! More than 850 students and adults attended to honor this year’s senior cadets,” said Monica Velasco, who chaired the volunteer Military Ball Committee. “This is by far the highest attendance we have ever had, worthy of our Corps of Cadets.”
A celebration of Army traditions and TMI’s military heritage, the Military Ball is the largest social event of the school year. Guests honored the accomplishments of the cadet senior class: Austin Carothers, Jeremy Clark, Kyle Evers, Reno Garza, Daryl “Trey” Lansdale III, Dara Mack, Juan Pablo Martinez Cordeiro, Leon Antonio Haudenosaunee Gambitta, Bailey LePage, Austin Miller, Chinedu Ofoegbu, Juan Pablo Orozco, Nicholas Perez, Osman Sharaf, Xiangyi “Grace” Shi, Curtis Small, Ana Paula Velasco-Braune, JuliaGrace Walker, Mark Harris “Harry” Ware, Harrison White, Carter Wittschiebe, Ammar Zafar, Weiyi “Steven” Zhang and Xintian “Kobe” Zhou.
Another highlight of the evening was the Presentation of Sweethearts. These outstanding female cadets representing each of the Corps’ four companies and staff officers were Velasco-Braune, battalion staff; Walker, Alpha Company; Mack, Bravo Company; Shi, Charlie Company; and LePage, Delta Company. Velasco-Braune, who serves as battalion commander – the highest-ranking cadet officer – was crowned Military Ball Queen, an honor arrived at on the basis of interviews with a panel of judges.
Guest speaker was Army Capt. Sam Brown, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who was medically retired after he was injured in Afghanistan. A nationally recognized advocated for wounded warriors, he spoke to the Military Ball audience about selflessness and overcoming adversity.
The first TMI Military Ball was held Feb. 27, 1965, at TMI on its previous, Alamo Heights campus.