Midshipman 1st Class Ryan Sawyer, right, and Midshipman 3rd Class Sean Cruz deliver their remarks at the 2010 Engineer Dinner Feb. 25. U.S. Navy photo by MC3 Patrick Green.

The night was hosted by members of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), an organization focused on promoting engineering support for national security within the military, public and private sectors.

‘‘It was a culmination of all four years,” said Midshipman 1st Class Ryan Sawyer, SAME chapter president. ‘‘It also gave the midshipmen in attendance an interest in the outside world of engineering.”

Among the midshipmen at the dinner were the 2010 Trident and Bowman scholars, who were also honored during the course of the evening.

Members of other engineering organizations and companies were also in attendance, sharing stories and industry knowledge with the midshipmen.

The night was topped with a special keynote speech from the Honorable Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, offered words of advice in his keynote speech to the midshipmen on the importance of engineering within military fields.

The event was a celebration and a night of networking, allowing the mids to meet various engineers not only from the military, but also the civilian sector as well.

‘‘For me it was interesting. The vast array of experiences from both sides allows you get to see how they each approached different engineering situations,” said Sawyer.

The night recognized the effort the mids had put into their major, acknowledging the difficulty of the curriculum and the sacrifices that they might have made to keep their grades afloat.

‘‘It was a challenge for me, a character building experience,” said Sawyer. ‘‘There were a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of frustrations and seeing classmates doing better in grades than you. The character it takes to stay with the challenge is great.”

For future grads and mids who haven’t chosen their major yet, Sawyer suggests engineering over any other major, calling on his own personal experience and the professional development he felt he gained.

‘‘I would highly recommend engineering because it’s a different way of thinking and seeing the world,” said Sawyer. ‘‘You look at everything and have an understanding of how it works.”

According to Sawyer, the dinner was one of many milestones in the midshipmen’s careers, increasing their excitement for their field, but also allowing them to see the future challenges that await.

‘‘It’s frustrating, but in the end it’s worth it. No matter where you go, you’ll have a Naval Academy degree,” said Sawyer. ‘‘The knowledge you gain from the academy is seeing how you didn’t skate by, seeing where you failed, that you stayed up three straight nights and still wasn’t too tired for the test; that knowledge is something special.”