From Patrick’s obituary:

Patrick was raised in Alexandria, VA, attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and Bishop Ireton High School, where he played football and was the class salutatorian. After one year at Virginia Tech, he entered the Naval Academy with the Class of 2011. He was a member of 25th Company. 

Patrick was a voracious reader with broad interests. He viewed life as a team sport, not an individual competition. His formula for success was: be prepared, view every job as fun, and treat everyone as an important member of the team. He demonstrated exceptional spatial awareness and coordination, and excelled as an aviator. Major Jimmy Forbes, VT-9’s senior Marine, considered him one of the three best student aviators he’d ever observed. Commander Charles Paquin, XO of the squadron, agreed, adding that Patrick was also one of the most promising junior officers he ever encountered. Patrick’s cheerful optimism and energy inspired teamwork and cooperation. He was awarded his Wings posthumously.  

Patrick did the right thing even when no one was watching. He touched more lives in 25 years than most people do in a lifetime. He lived fearlessly, loved every one of his 1133 friends on Facebook and brought out the best in us all. He set the highest standards for his own professional performance, cheerfully assisted others, inspired teamwork and always placed the needs of others ahead of his own.