{"id":24,"date":"2025-01-16T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/"},"modified":"2025-02-18T18:38:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T18:38:24","slug":"maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Maritime alumni got feet wet through camps, field days\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Port Houston\u2019s Maritime Field Day last fall, middle schoolers crammed sardine-style inside a 12-person U.S. Coast Guard life raft. Although the raft stayed planted on concrete, the instructor described the rocking motion on the sea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a real emergency,\u201d he said, \u201ceveryone would take a seasickness pill immediately to make sure no one got sick. Because if one person throws up, guess what everyone else will be doing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At other stations around San Jacinto College\u2019s Maritime Technology and Training Center, students zipped themselves up in immersion suits or hefted 30 pounds of line.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hands-on is the name of the game at the Maritime Campus, where field days and summer camps allow youth to get their feet wet to explore seafaring careers. In fact, several successful alumni started this way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alumnus Allan Rivera<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Allan

Allan Rivera<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Originally from Puerto Rico, Allan Rivera had dreamed about a career at sea after hearing stories from his grandpa and stepdad, both mariners.<\/span><\/p>\n

While attending the Stephen F. Austin Maritime High School magnet program, Rivera participated in two Port Houston field days at the Maritime Campus. Firefighting demos and boat tours piqued his interest even more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw how beneficial the Maritime Campus would be for me to start a career,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fall 2021, he enrolled. Since Spanish is his first language, Rivera struggled to grasp technical material in English but face-to-face classes and supportive instructors helped.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe teachers help you understand 100%,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore, I had encountered people who didn\u2019t want to help me. [But at San Jac] if I needed to stay extra hours after school, my instructors would help me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He also gained plenty of hands-on experience \u2014 from chart plotting and radar observing to firefighting and lifting life rafts in the campus pool.<\/span><\/p>\n

An internship with G&H Towing led to a full-time position with the company after he graduated with his maritime transportation associate degree in May 2023. He is currently an able-bodied seaman, planning to test for his mate\u2019s license this spring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alumnus Landon Walters<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"Landon

Landon Walters<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Landon Walters attended a San Jac maritime summer camp after graduating from high school in 2015. He toured the Battleship Texas and listened to a speaker who had earned both unlimited master\u2019s and chief\u2019s licenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHearing her sea stories from around the world was very interesting and pushed me even more to get into the industry to gain some sea stories of my own,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walters decided setting sail would fit him better than being a landlubber in a cubical.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter attending the summer camp at San Jac and realizing how many opportunities there were in the industry, it definitely solidified my decision,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That fall, Walters enrolled, also pursuing the maritime transportation associate degree. During his first year, he interned on a Higman Towing barge, gaining experience working lines and making and breaking tows.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his second year, Walters traveled with the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region to Washington, D.C., where he sat on a National Maritime Intelligence Center meeting focused on the Port of Houston.<\/span><\/p>\n

An internship with G&H Towing led to a full-time position after Walters graduated in August 2017. He\u2019s now a mate working to obtain his master\u2019s license and ultimately become a captain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Solid start, stable career<\/span><\/h3>\n

Camps and field days expose prospective students to the adventurous side of maritime, and San Jac gives them the training they need to excel in the industry. After completing two summer internships on vessels, 100% of associate degree graduates get hired immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a deckhand on a tug, Rivera has dealt with everything from getting drenched while wrangling a ship in a hurricane to working on holidays and birthdays. But despite some high-adrenaline moments, he would look no further for a stable, sustaining career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a career you can build on \u2014 and not just on boats,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cYou can transfer to the shore side and work your way up. A lot of people see it as a hard industry, but if you put your mind or soul into it, you can accomplish it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about the Maritime Campus<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

San Jac Summer Camps<\/span><\/h2>\n

From maritime to robotics and theatre, San Jac offers entertaining and educational youth summer camps to fit every personality.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Camps are being added, so check our summer camp page frequently.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about summer camps<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Courtney Morris<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At Port Houston\u2019s Maritime Field Day last fall, middle schoolers crammed sardine-style inside a 12-person U.S. Coast Guard life raft. Although the raft stayed planted on concrete, the instructor described the rocking motion on the sea. \u201cIn a real emergency,\u201d he said, \u201ceveryone would take a seasickness pill immediately to make sure no one got… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":67,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"article_type":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritime-technology","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMaritime alumni got feet wet through camps, field days\u00a0 - Spring 2025, Volume 6 \u2013 Issue 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maritime alumni got feet wet through camps, field days\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At Port Houston\u2019s Maritime Field Day last fall, middle schoolers crammed sardine-style inside a 12-person U.S. Coast Guard life raft. Although the raft stayed planted on concrete, the instructor described the rocking motion on the sea. \u201cIn a real emergency,\u201d he said, \u201ceveryone would take a seasickness pill immediately to make sure no one got... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spring 2025, Volume 6 \u2013 Issue 1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-16T21:45:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-18T18:38:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2025\/02\/maritime_800.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cmorris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cmorris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sanjac.mycareerfocus.org\/spring-2025-volume-6-issue-1\/maritime-alumni-got-feet-wet-through-camps-field-days\/\",\"name\":\"Maritime alumni got feet wet through camps, field days\u00a0 - 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