For their service and sacrifice to the nation, UMass Lowell will honor military veterans who attend the university and those who live in the community at the institution’s 14th annual Flag Ceremony, a free event open to the public.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Tyler Davis, a 2019 UMass Lowell graduate from Lowell, will deliver the event’s keynote address. Also offering remarks will be Samantha Spaziano, a Purple Heart recipient and president of UMass Lowell’s Student Veterans Alliance, who is a business administration major from Attleboro, along with UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen.
Davis is a mission pilot and chief of plans and programs assigned to the 1st Helicopter Squadron headquartered out of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Spaziano, an Air Force ROTC cadet who will graduate in 2025, is a U.S. Air Force veteran and former staff sergeant who worked as an aviation resource manager. Deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and an undisclosed location over the course of her service, she was awarded a Purple Heart for combat injuries she sustained in Iraq.
The ceremony will feature the unfurling of a three-story-tall American flag from the top balcony of the building’s atrium, a performance by the UMass Lowell Marching Band and the presentation of the colors by the UMass Lowell Air Force ROTC Detachment No. 345.
An estimated 1,350 military-connected students attend UMass Lowell – the state’s top public university – either on campus or online, many while deployed at locations around the world.
The country observes Veterans Day on Saturday, Nov. 11.
