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CGA Takes Home “Best Presentation” At Jean Bartik Computing Symposium

Stefanie Senkow | March 25, 2024

Small Coast Guard, big opportunities. While the Coast Guard may be the smallest of the service academies, it offers cadets large-scale experiences. Taking home the runner-up place for “Best Presentation” at this year’s Jean Bartik Computing Symposium is just one example.

First Class Cadet Lauren Oakes represented the Academy at the Symposium and presented a created system of four cameras hardwired on the waterfront and capable of object detection to locate vessels and estimate their latitude and longitude in real-time. She specifically developed the system’s capability to estimate the vessels’ locations. Her presentation made a splash at the event.

“The best part of the experience was being able to demonstrate that the Coast Guard Academy has a place at the table alongside the other academies in terms of education and research opportunities,” said Oakes. “There is nothing to prevent the Coast Guard from developing state-of-the-art technology and bringing valuable new tools to the fleet.”

This opportunity helped Oakes see what potential the future of technology has on the Coast Guard. As she gets ready to graduate and become a commissioned officer in the fleet, she approaches her role with an exponentially greater understanding of cutting-edge technology and the Coast Guard.

“I now see the potential of leveraging new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and that there’s no limit to the opportunities in these fields to work with other services,” said Oakes.

Oakes will be a Student Engineer on USCG Kimball out of Honolulu, Hawaii upon graduation.

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.