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Veteran's Day Assembly 2004

This was a special Veteran's Day Assembly because our armed services are actively fighting overseas and because of our distinguished Guest Speaker, Marisol Chalis. We were very fortunate to have with us today a Guest Speaker who is very much a part of the present conflict in Iraq as well as being part of the Lynn Classical past. When she was 9, Marisol and her family emigrated from the Dominican Republic and settled in Lynn where she attended Lynn Classical. While still a senior, she joined the Army National Guard, in part to finance her college degree. In 1991, Marisol graduated from Lynn Classical and then went to college at Mass Maritime. Upon graduation from Mass Maritime in 1996, Marisol began two concurrent careers. First, she was employed at the General Electric as a Field Engineer working on nuclear reactors. Second, she also continued her career in the army National Guard. Although she began as a private, she quickly was promoted to Sergeant. She then attended Officers Candidate School where she graduated as an officer, a second lieutenant. She then entered Aviation School in Georgia where she was trained as one of the first females to pilot Blackhawk helicopters. The war in Iraq caused her unit to be activated. Marisol and her unit were sent last February to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although still young, it's obvious that Marisol has experienced much. We sincerely thank First Lieutenant Marisol Chalis for speaking to us today.