Nancy Mace tells Citadel graduates to lead with “courage, discipline, and strength” in commencement speech

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the first female cadet to graduate from the Citadel, called on graduating cadets to draw on their “courage, discipline, and strength” Saturday as they enter into their next chapters.

“You are graduating at a time when America needs the courage, when America needs the discipline, and when America needs the strength that flows through the veins of every single Citadel graduate,” Mace told the 2024 Corps of Cadets.

These values, she said, are in “short supply” across America and the globe, referring to the ongoing turmoil on college campuses fueled by the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.

“We have seen when a lack of these values leads to chaos and lawlessness both at home and abroad,” Mace said. “What we are witnessing around college campuses, at our borders, and in wars around the world is proof that without discipline there is no strength, and that an idle command to stop, without fear of consequences, will be ignored, and even mocked.”

From coast to coast, demonstrators are sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll, and the number of arrests at campuses nationwide is approaching 1,000 as the final days of class wrap up. The outcry is forcing colleges to reckon with their financial ties to Israel, as well as their support for free speech. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus, the Associated Press reported.

Mace condemned the protests as “unacceptable” and “un-American,” saying some students could “use a dose of Citadel discipline.”

“I would love to see how long one of these self-appointed student leaders at our so-called elite universities would last during hell week,” she said.

She referred to the 490 graduating cadets in front of her Saturday as “America’s true future leaders.”

“America’s true future leaders aren’t setting up encampments on college campuses,” Mace said. “America’s future leaders are about to walk across the stage in McAlister Field House at a school where we don’t burn American flags…We salute them.”

The congresswoman urged cadets to remember the values instilled upon them at the military college as they go into the future, whether it’s in the armed forces, private enterprise, or public service.

“No matter your career, your Citadel experience and your principles will always light your way,” she said. “No matter where you set your sights when you leave here today, your loftiest dreams have been made more achievable by the discipline instilled in each of you from the moment you arrived on campus. It is what will separate you when you face the inevitable challenges life throws at all of us.”

During her speech, Mace also took a moment to address the female cadets who graduated Saturday.

“When you cross this stage, it might feel like a quick walk. But it’s not. It’s a long path that took over 150 years to forge,” she told them.

Mace enrolled at The Citadel in 1996 following a landmark Supreme Court decision that found the Virginia Military Institute’s males-only policy was unconstitutional. During her first year, she was one of only two women in attendance.

“Prior to arriving on campus on August 24, 1996, I was raped at the age of 16 and dropped out of high school at 17, I didn’t believe I had a future,” Mace said. “But one day in the summer of 1996, all of that changed. The Citadel offered me something no one else could when it opened its doors to women.”

She became the first female cadet to graduate from the military college in 1999.

“The Citadel, by the grace of God, saved my life,” she said.

In the speech, which came 25 years after her own graduation, Mace highlighted the “firsts” of many female cadets who followed in her footsteps, including Amanda Orson, the first woman Battalion Commander, the first African American female graduates in 2002 dubbed the ‘Magnificent Seven,’ and Sarah Zorn, the first female Regimental Commander.

“As women, we hear a great deal about glass ceilings. But glass is meant to be broken. So shatter it to pieces. Its reality is only as strong as the power we grant it,” Mace said.

Women now make up approximately 13% of the Corps of Cadets, a number that continues to grow, according to Citadel officials.

“Let your legacy inspire the women coming after you,” she urged. “As the saying goes, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ So when you get to where you’re going, turn around and help the next woman behind you find her way.”

Mace ended her remarks with a message for the future.

“When life comes at you fast, you can look down at your ring and remember, it represents your courage, it represents your discipline, and it represents your strength in every challenge you endure, and there will be many in the years to come,” she said.

“I speak from experience when I tell you, your sacrifice here was great. But your reward after will be greater,” she concluded.