Nov 6, 2023 2 min read

Commander Sarah Cottrill, a Washington High School alum from the class of 1998, will be the main speaker at the Veterans Day program on Nov. 10 beginning at 2 p.m. in the high school auditorium.

The program, which is open to the public, will honor those who served in all branches of the military. The band and chorus will be performing, recognizing each military branch with the chorus performing their service song.

Cottrill currently serves as the chief of the National Security Law Division of the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at United States Cyber Command on Fort Meade, Md. Before receiving her commission through the student program in October 2006, Cottrill received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and crime, law and justice from Pennsylvania State University and a juris doctor from Duquesne University School of Law, where she was the executive editor of the Duquesne Law Review. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

She explained, “I chose to become a Navy lawyer because I was in college on 9/11 and in law school during the early years of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I felt a strong desire to do my part to defend the country from any similar attacks in the future, but I also felt that we should do so while also holding true to our values and the rule of law. Put simply, I wanted to serve my country and be part of the solution rather than just stand on the sidelines and complain about what I thought was a problem.”

Her personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Navy Commendation Medal (four awards) and Navy Achievement Medal (three awards). She plans to talk to the students and public at the program about why public service matters.