A Naval Academy midshipman was recently awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his actions in saving a midshipman candidate at the Naval Academy Preparatory School while attending summer training in Newport, R.I.
Midshipman 1st Class Cody Cartwright gave CPR to a NAPS student who was suffering from a reaction to medication.
“I was just the right person in the right place at the right time,” said Cartwright.
Cmdr. Valerie Overstreet, 4th Battalion officer, presented Cartwright with his award in front of the brigade before noon meal in King Hall.
Cartwright is a political science major from Texas City, Texas. He enlisted as a Navy corpsman before being accepted into NAPS in 2007. He serves as 17th Company’s executive officer.
Midshipmen who know Cartwright well describe him as fun-loving and unafraid of stepping up in a critical situation.
“I was just doing my job to the best of my ability,” he said of his role in helping the midshipman candidate. “I’m just glad everything turned out okay.”
Cartwright, 26, said being the oldest midshipman in the brigade and having to give grandfatherly advice has been a great personal leadership experience for him, as well as being on NAPS detail during the summer.
He values persistence as his greatest lesson learned at USNA and references Woody Allen in saying that most of the success in life is just showing up in the first place. Cartwright will graduate in May and plans to join the surface warfare community.
