Featured Firstie: 1/C Caitlin Doran

  POSTED ON: Friday, March 3, 2023 10:52 AM by mediarelations@usna.edu

This week’s Firstie Friday is Midshipman 1st Class (senior) Caitlin Doran from Queens, NY. For the past four years at USNA, she has played as a forward for Navy Women's Soccer, and after the conclusion of the 2022 fall soccer season, she took on the role of spring semester company commander for 10th Company.

Doran knew that she wanted to apply to the academy at a very young age. She recalls, “I was visiting with my dad when I was twelve, and never wanted to look anywhere else. From the moment I stepped on the yard, I saw the way midshipmen carried themselves, and I admired the sacrifice of their normal college experience for a purpose bigger than themselves.” As a midshipman, Doran has realized, “Being a midshipman has not been a sacrifice, but rather a gift.”

Her parents have been Doran’s inspiration: “They were the first people I looked up to as leaders. They gave me a healthy balance of love and discipline that has laid the foundation of who I am as a leader today.” When asked about how she leads her company, she said, “With love and discipline. Love is how you inspire people and let them know that you’re there for them, and discipline is the everyday commitment to those people so they can achieve their goals.” 

Doran’s favorite memory has been traveling to Europe with the women’s soccer team and her parents. She will miss the simple moments like grabbing coffee in Annapolis or late-night talks in the hallways, but she is eager to commission and begin The Basic School. Doran will commission into the U.S. Marine Corps in May 2023. 

Category: General Interest, Midshipman