United States Naval Academy
Midshipman 1/C Melissa Cortese hails from Elk Grove Village, Illinois and is a graduate of Queen of the Rosary School (‘13) and Saint Viator High School (‘17). She is currently a First Class (senior) at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and is expected to graduated in May as a member of the Class of 2021. She is currently finishing up her last few months at the Academy as Quantitative Economics major with an academic honors distinction.
Once she graduates, she will be commissioned as an officer in the Surface Warfare community where she will have subspecialty in nuclear power. She will operate and manage some of the world’s most technologically advanced equipment and systems on destroyers and aircraft carriers. Although a small Navy community, Melissa chose to be a surface trained nuclear officer so she could combine her love for all things ship related and her love for learning new and challenging things. She hopes to be on a ship home-ported somewhere overseas or in San Diego when she graduates before heading off to Charleston, South Carolina for Nuclear Power School.
MIDN 1/C Cortese is grateful for all the experiences and opportunities Queen of the Rosary, Saint Viator, and the Naval Academy have given her and is excited to continue her Navy journey moving forward!