Future officer: Saint Mary’s Finance major and ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate Dylin Ganassin ’26 during a field training exercise as part of his Army ROTC career. Ganassin will report to Schofield Barracks in Hawai'i this summer for his first duty assignment. / Photo courtesy Dylin Ganassin
From Gael to Gold Bar
Top-ranked ROTC cadet Dylin Ganassin ’26 prepares for Commencement, commissioning as a Second Lieutenant, and a future of Army service.
One early weekday morning after another, while most Saint Mary’s students are still asleep, Dylin Ganassin ’26 is already on the road—heading west toward the University of California, Berkeley campus well before sunrise. From 6 to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday, he’s immersed in ROTC physical training alongside cadets from across the region. Thursday mornings bring additional leadership and training classes, adding to an already demanding weekly schedule.
It’s a challenging routine, but for Ganassin, discipline and commitment are nothing new. On May 23, just one day after he crosses the Commencement stage at Saint Mary’s College, the Sacramento native will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. At that same ceremony, he’ll also receive one of ROTC’s most prestigious distinctions: Distinguished Military Graduate, an honor awarded to the top 10 percent of cadets nationwide.
Ganassin’s résumé helps explain why. Ranked among the top 100 ROTC cadets out of more than 4,000 across the country, the Finance major has excelled both academically and militarily during his four years at Saint Mary’s—taking full advantage of the opportunities ROTC afforded him along the way.
“I came into college knowing I wanted to challenge myself,” Ganassin says. “ROTC gave me structure, purpose, and access to people who pushed me to be better every day—both as a student and as a future leader.”
A family legacy—and a personal path
Born and raised in Sacramento, Ganassin graduated from Bella Vista High School with a strong interest in service, shaped by both family tradition and upbringing. His grandfather served in the Army, instilling an early respect for military service. Ganassin is also quick to credit his parents, whom he says raised him to value patriotism, discipline, and a strong sense of responsibility.
Still, it was his older sister, Sophia Sakura Ganassin, who helped make ROTC feel like a tangible option. As an ROTC cadet at the University of Utah—now a nurse in the Army—she introduced Dylin to a path that blended leadership training with higher education.
“She showed me that there was a way to serve while also going to college and keeping doors open,” he says. “That combination really appealed to me.”
Saint Mary’s ultimately proved to be an ideal fit. Through ROTC, Ganassin received full tuition coverage and a monthly stipend, financial support that made it possible to focus on his studies and training without the burden many undergraduates carry.
“ROTC enabled me to come to Saint Mary’s,” he says plainly. “That support changed everything for me.”
Opportunity through commitment
Ganassin embraced ROTC fully, applying for—and earning—competitive placements that took him across the country and around the world.
The summer after his first year at SMC, he was among roughly 500 cadets selected nationwide to attend Air Assault School at Fort Benning, an elite and physically demanding program known for testing grit and endurance. The following summer brought a very different experience through Project GO, a fully funded ROTC study-abroad program. Ganassin spent four months in Japan with Georgia Tech’s ROTC program—an opportunity that held special personal significance for him.
Ganassin, who is half Japanese, says the experience allowed him not only to continue his military training abroad, but also to develop a deeper appreciation for his cultural heritage. “Being able to spend that much time in Japan really stood out for me,” he says. “I’ve always appreciated the culture, but the Army gave me the chance to learn it more deeply and understand it in a new way. Living overseas and seeing how other cultures approach leadership and teamwork—it was eye-opening.”
During the summer after his junior year, Ganassin’s ROTC path took him to Europe for an Army-funded JAG internship in Germany. Working within the Kaiserslautern Military Community, he spent four weeks supporting trial defense operations—an experience that expanded his understanding of the Army’s legal and ethical responsibilities.
For Ganassin, each opportunity built on the previous ones, reinforcing his strong performance on the Order of Merit List, the national ranking system that ultimately placed him among the country’s highest-performing cadets.
That recognition also led to his invitation to the George C. Marshall Awards and Leadership Conference in Virginia, where the nation’s top 100 cadets gather for advanced leadership development and recognition.
“It was humbling,” he says. “You look around the room and realize how many incredible people are committing themselves to service. It motivates you to live up to that standard.”
Supported by the Gael community
Balancing ROTC commitments with a full academic load required careful coordination—and understanding from those around him. Ganassin credits Saint Mary’s faculty with being consistently supportive when his military responsibilities pulled him away from campus.
“The professors were amazing,” he says. “They understood what ROTC demands, and they worked with me. I never felt like I had to choose between being a cadet and being a Gael.”
That sense of support, he says, defines the Saint Mary’s experience.
“Saint Mary’s is a place where people want to see you succeed,” he says. “That really makes a difference when you’re juggling as much as ROTC requires.”
Winning the International Lasallian Business Ethics Competition
One of the opportunities Ganassin seized was serving as part of a Saint Mary’s Team in the International Lasallian Business Ethics Competition in 2024. Along with August Blomquist ’26 and Jack Russo ’25, Ganassin had taken a course in Business Ethics and Social Responsibility with Professor Caroline Burns, who recommended them for the team. For the competition, they were joined by Alexis Taliaferro ’25, a student in a course taught by Grant Rozeboom, and Stephanie Guilford ’25, who had been studying the subject with Lili Yan.
The team tackled with depth and insight the lapses of morality, oversight, media coverage, and more that enabled the company Theranos to become a cautionary tale of fraud run amok. There was a point in the competition when the team of undergrad business students from Saint Mary’s had finished their presentation and it was time to field questions from the judges. There were a couple big ones: Of the Lasallian principles on which Saint Mary’s and other schools were founded, what was the chief one that was violated? And, in the aftermath, which principle might be used to set things aright?
Ganassin didn’t miss a beat. Respect for all people was clearly missing in action, he said—especially for the sick and vulnerable individuals who trusted the tests. And a commitment to social justice—perhaps taking the form of restitution paid to those whose medical decisions and lives were upended by falsified blood test results—is a natural next step.
When the competition scores were announced, Saint Mary’s was awarded first place. The way Ganassin saw it, the experience with the competition is very much part of a bigger picture—not just in terms of its connection to the course in Business Ethics, but to a larger education mission. “You're trying to build a vision of a future where you create more ethical and more moral people—and the world needs that.”
Ready for what’s next
In the weeks following graduation, Ganassin will head first to San Antonio, where he’ll attend the Army’s Basic Officer Leadership Course. By July, he’ll report to his first duty station at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, Hawai'i, beginning a four-year active-duty commitment as a commissioned officer.
Looking ahead, Ganassin is interested in a future within medical services—a medevac pilot role is among the possibilities he’s exploring.
For now, though, the focus is on commissioning day: standing in uniform, raising his right hand, and officially becoming Second Lieutenant Ganassin.
“It’s a moment I’ve been working toward for a long time,” he says. “But it’s also just the beginning.”
Asked what he would say to incoming Saint Mary’s students considering ROTC, his answer is simple.
“If you want to challenge yourself, serve your country, and have real support while you earn your degree, I’d absolutely encourage you to look into ROTC,” he says. “It opened so many doors for me—and it helped shape the person I’ve become.”
