3/c Summer Experience

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!