CAZENOVIA — On Nov. 22, Cazenovia native and United States Marine Corps (USMC) First Lieutenant Margaret Carpenter graduated as a naval aviator from the US Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi, Texas.

She has been assigned to a Marine Air Station in North Carolina, where she will spend the next several years flying the C-130 aircraft in support of Marine Operations.

Carpenter is a 2013 graduate of Cazenovia High School and a 2017 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She attended USMC Officer Candidate School in 2021 and was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation.

Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler taught Carpenter in high school and described his former student as an exceptional scholar, athlete, and leader.

Wheeler, a retired colonel in the USMC Reserve, said that as her former teacher and a Marine, he is extremely proud of Carpenter for completing flight school. He is also proud that such a talented person with infinite options has chosen to serve her country in the armed forces.

“Maggie was an ‘A’ student in my AP US History and AP Government classes and a three-sport athlete who made major contributions to our field hockey, basketball, and golf teams,” Wheeler said. “Maggie also had a wonderful, dry sense of humor, which will serve her well during the rigors of military service. I got a second chance to work with Maggie when she participated [in] our community running club in the winter of 2020-21 as she prepared for Officer Candidate School. Congratulations to Maggie on this great accomplishment. Semper Fidelis.”

Latin for “always faithful,” Semper Fidelis has been the USMC motto since 1883. It embodies the corps’ values of honor, courage, and commitment.