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3/c Summer Experience

Emily Morin | June 8, 2023

Emily Morin

Station New Haven: I loved my time at Station New Haven. There were 4 of us at the station and we stayed for 4 weeks at Sector Long Island Sound right next door. Each day, we would spend our time helping out the crew, going underway on vessel boardings/boat checks, and working on qualifications. I had a lot of fun getting dirty when jumping into the engines to do oil checks and acting in boarding officer simulations to help with qualifications. Working with the crew helped give us a new understanding of what fleet life is like and gave us opportunities to learn from the enlisted members that we may work with again in the future! Additionally, one of my favorite parts of time at the Station was getting the opportunity to drive the boats and practicing man overboard simulations. We also had the chance to get our pepper spray qualification, definitely one of the most uncomfortable experiences in my life!

Grad Week: After our first week at Station, we came back to the Academy for a week to help with the Class of 2021 Graduation which marks the day when 1/c cadets become ensigns (officers) in the US Coast Guard. Additionally, this was the year that the President came, so I was very excited when I found out that I would be participating in a cordon, which involved saluting him!

Eagle: Although I learned the hard way how seasick I could get, there were some very hot days, and some especially cold nights, Eagle was worth it. For my experience, we started in Reykjavik, Iceland, then sailed down to Hamilton, Bermuda, 2 places I never thought I would ever be able to go! In Iceland, I had the chance to go to the Blue Lagoon Hot Springs, explore waterfalls like Skogafoss, and hike up the active Fagradalsfjall volcano. Then during our transit down to Bermuda, we had a swim call in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The water was so blue and the temperature was like bathwater. Down in Bermuda, I went to various beaches and saw huge parrotfish, swam in a mangrove pond at Blue Hole, and went cliff jumping at Admiralty House Park! Truly experiences of a lifetime!

About Emily

Hometown: Newton, MA
Major: Marine and Environmental Sciences
Email: Emily.J.Davis-Morin@uscga.edu

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.