Maj. Gen. Michael Ennis, Warsaw, Va., graduated from Concordia with a burning desire to utilize the language skills he learned in French and Russian. Then Uncle Sam stepped in and Ennis was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps.

Over the next 37 years, he served as a translator on the Washington- Moscow “hotline” for President Reagan; as a liaison to the Soviet Forces in Potsdam, East Germany; as an inspector on the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty; as an attache in Moscow; and finally as the deputy director of operations at the Central Intelligence Agency. He received numerous awards throughout his military career. 

Since retiring from the Marine Corps, Ennis has served on the Federal Board of Advisors for Benchmark Executive Search and is an Enterprise Risk Officer for Leidos Corp.