ANNAPOLIS, MD – The 2025 class of Naval Academy Distinguished Graduates was honored on Thursday, September 4th for their selfless service, mentorship and moral leadership.
This year’s honorees: Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert ’75, USN (Ret.), Vice Admiral Anthony L. Winns ’78, USN (Ret.), Captain Sunita L. Williams ’87, USN (Ret.) and JoAnna L. Sohovich ’93 exemplify the Academy’s mission. They reached the highest levels of their professions and are dedicated to ensuring the Brigade of Midshipmen has world class facilities, programming, mentoring and the necessary resources to deliver unparalleled leadership development opportunities.
The members of the 2025 class of Distinguished Graduates have made significant impacts through their service in uniform, board rooms and even the International Space Station. Their legacies will endure as future generations benefit from their guidance, leadership and philanthropy.
During their award ceremony addresses to the Brigade of Midshipmen, the Distinguished Graduates shared personal experiences, leadership lessons and offered advice to the next generation of warfighters.
Admiral Greenert served as the 30th Chief of Naval Operations (2011-2015). He began his career as a submariner and commanded HONOLULU (SSN 718). His flag assignments were Commander, U.S. Forces Micronesia; Deputy Comptroller, Department of the Navy; Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Commander, U.S. SEVENTH Fleet (Asia); Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Requirements and Resources (N8); Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces (Atlantic); and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He retired from military service in October 2015 and serves as a director on corporate boards, as a consultant and advisor, and as a volunteer for non-profit and philanthropic organizations.
ADM Greenert informed midshipmen that upon commissioning there is a reset. Their academic standing won’t matter to the sailors and Marines put in their charge. But, their leadership, ingrained during their four years in Annapolis, will be counted on.
“Your vocation is service in the Fleet,” Greenert said. “It depends on your grasp of the professional training that you get here. It’s all here at the Naval Academy. All those professional courses, seamanship, tactics, leadership, and yes, celestial navigation. It matters, a lot. Even rates. Chow call. The five basic responses. It’s relevant.
“They will build future muscle memory for emergency action, which you will have to take. It will be at an unpredictable time and people are all going to look at you. You’ve got to do the right thing. You have to do it concisely and coherently. You’re building for that.”
Vice Admiral Winns was the first officer from the class of 1978 to earn flag rank. He commanded Patrol Squadron Eleven, ESSEX (LHD-2), Patrol and Reconnaissance Force Pacific and Task Force 32, and served as Vice Director and Acting Director for Operations (J-3), Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Naval Inspector General. He retired from military service in 2011 and joined Lockheed Martin, serving as president of the Middle East-Africa region and later as Deputy, Lockheed Martin International and Regional Executive, Africa-Latin America. In 2007, Winns was the recipient of the Becoming Everything You Are (BEYA) “Career Achievement in Government” Award for inspirational STEM leadership. He founded the BEYA National Scholarship Foundation and co-founded the BEYA National STEM Student Mentoring Program which has inspired over 7,000 high school students. Winns is a trustee of the Naval Academy Foundation Athletic and Scholarship Programs.
VADM Winns encouraged midshipmen to persevere when things don’t go their way. He shared a story about Thomas Edison’s efforts to create the lightbulb. Winns said Edison embraced mistakes as learning opportunities, noting the phonograph inventor said he hadn’t failed 10,000 times in his quest to perfect the lightbulb, rather, he found 10,000 ways that will not work.
“Learn from your mistakes, understand why they occurred and more importantly, use that that knowledge to avoid similar errors in the future,” Winns said.
CAPT Williams began her naval career as a helicopter pilot, logging over 3,000 hours in 30-plus aircraft as a test pilot. She became an astronaut in 1998 and has made three trips to the International Space Station (ISS). She is one of two women to command the ISS twice, and one of five U.S. astronauts with over 500 days in space. Williams regularly participates in the Naval Academy Space Convocation, relaying her Navy and NASA experiences to the next generation of leaders and explorers. Her contributions to the space program include helping build the ISS and designing systems, products, and processes for future space travel.
On 5 June 2024, CAPT Williams and Barry Wilmore launched on the Boeing Starliner for a planned 8-day stay on the ISS. That turned into nine months in space as thruster malfunctions delayed the astronauts’ return to Earth until 19 March 2025.
CAPT Williams used her extended time in space as an example of the benefits of being adaptable and making the best of whatever situation you find yourself.
“You might be, at some point in your life, at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Williams said. “You just need to turn that into the right place at the right time. Accept these challenges you might get. …You move on from the wrong place and you move to the courage part. Let’s get this done, we can do this. You know what you’re supposed to do next because of your training you had many years starting with the foundation (at the Naval Academy). You have the courage to say, ‘this is something we didn’t expect. We’re just going to handle it. Don’t look back, just make it happen.”
JoAnna Sohovich began her career as a Navy Supply Corps officer, serving at the supply depot, U.S. Naval Submarine base in Point Loma, CA. She deployed to the Persian Gulf aboard ESSEX (LHD-2), an amphibious assault ship, as one of the first women following the repeal of the combat exclusion policy. She has held leadership positions with some of the world’s leading companies such as Chamberlain Group, Stanley Black & Decker, and Honeywell. Sohovich serves on the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board of Directors and as a member of the Women For Navy Athletics. Her philanthropic projects include the Sohovich Refueling Station in Lejeune Hall that provides nutritional resources and custom tools needed for athletic programs based on training and competition schedules.
During her Distinguished Graduate address, Sohovich offered midshipmen advice on leading after commissioning.
“You’ll learn after graduation that the sheer weight of being responsible for lives cannot be replicated anywhere else,” Sohovich said. “It’s why giving 100% to your moral, mental and physical pursuits at Navy is so important. You’ll actually be in charge of people and lives in very short order. … If your sailors or Marines, no matter how highly trained they are, did not benefit from your training, don’t be an unforgiving leader. Remember, they’re human beings with parents and families who love and are so proud of them. Talk to them like those loved ones are witnessing your leadership. This approach will help you win hearts and minds in addition to respect.”
Since 1999, 118 Naval Academy alumni have been honored as Distinguished Graduates. A 10-person panel, chaired by Admiral Harry Harris ’78, USN (Ret.), solicited nominations, reviewed nominations packages and selected this year’s honorees. Naval Academy Distinguished Graduates demonstrate inspirational leadership and service in their fields, sustained and active support of the Naval Academy and the alumni community, and personal character.
Each year up to four graduates are chosen from a field of candidates nominated by their alumni peers. Recipients receive a medal awarded in Alumni Hall before the Brigade of Midshipmen.
The Class of 2025 Distinguished Graduates were the guests of honor at a Thursday night dinner during which they received their DGA pins.
On Friday, the Distinguished Graduates attended fourth-period class with their assigned midshipman. They had lunch with the Brigade of Midshipmen in King Hall, and they participated in a moderated engagement with midshipmen before attending an afternoon parade at Worden Field.
On Saturday, the Distinguished Graduates were honored with an on-field recognition during the Navy-UAB football game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.