Veterans Day Speaker Shares the Values of Service

Belmont Hill honors Veterans Day each year by holding school and starting the day with a Chapel Talk reflecting on the profound sacrifice and impact of our country’s service members. 

This year, students had the privilege of hearing from Alex Santangelo ’15, a former US Naval Officer who served aboard the USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81) as a Surface Warfare Officer, Antiterrorism Officer, Assistant Weapons Officer, First Lieutenant (Deck Division Officer), and Operations Intelligence Officer. Mr. Santangelo deployed to the Mediterranean Sea and throughout the Middle East in support of anti-drug and anti-weapon smuggling efforts, escort operations, and regional security. In 2024, he separated from active duty in the Navy and moved to Cambridge, MA to pursue a joint Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Public Policy at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. 

As a Belmont Hill student, Mr. Santangelo was an Academic All-American, co-captain of the varsity lacrosse team, class vice president, and member of the orchestra. It was during his time on campus that he learned of the heroism of Charles Kenney ’06, whose sacrifice and legacy helped inspire Mr. Santangelo to pursue a life of service. 
 
While life on a Navy vessel might seem to be a different world from what the boys face at Belmont Hill, Mr. Santangelo purposefully drew connections from his experiences as a sailor to the choices and obstacles students face each day on campus. To illustrate this message, he called back to the Latin words adorning the School’s seal: fidelitas, providentia, and studium. “I know these values intimately now because they guided my service in the Navy.” 
 
Those principles of loyalty, foresight, and dedication were essential to Mr. Santangelo’s time in the Navy, but not for any grand acts of heroism students might conjure up when thinking of Veterans Day and military service. “It's 99% routine, maintenance, drills, training—dedication to duty, not adventure,” Mr. Santangelo said. “It’s 301 watches where nothing happened. Where you showed up, stayed alert, did your job and went off watch. This is the mundanity of excellence.” Commitment to making the right choices in those daily moments, ensure being ready when it matters most.
 
For Mr. Santangelo, students face similar choices daily in the preparation and discipline required to perform on the athletic fields, memorize lines for Poetry Fest, or model Belmont Hill character for younger students. “Veterans are just ordinary people who showed up every single day for each other and the mission, even when it was boring or hard. 

“We honor veterans today, not because they're different from you. We honor them because they're just like you,” Mr. Santangelo said. “Fidelitas, providentia, studium. These are not just Latin words. They’re part of the code that turns ordinary people into people who we remember on days like this. You don't need to join the military to live these values or to lead a life of service.”

Click here to see a recording of this year’s Veterans Day Chapel.  Learn more about Belmont Hill alumni who have served in the military by visiting our Alumni in the Military page as we continue to honor and remember those who have defended our freedom.