The Heroes of The Great Wall

"Until you reach the Great Wall, you're no hero!"  That is what Chairman Mao has said to anyone who wanted to be a real hero.  Challenge Accepted!  

When you picture the Great Wall you think nice country side and just rolls of endless stones and towers along the wall.  The section that we went to was at one of the beginnings of the Great Wall, this was pretty much straight stairs.  We were all very excited to do this, that is until we got to the first few steps and looked up.  Most of us stayed in a group, however, a few of us went on up ahead to be the first ones.  

We decided to stop at one of the many towers along the wall to take a group picture.  The first group photo was only about 1/4 of the way up so we all look pretty happy.  After this picture, I decided to challenge myself and go mano-a-mano with the Great Wall.  I donned on my headphones and put "Eye of the Tiger" a.k.a. The Rocky Theme on repeat and never looked back.  I stopped a few times to catch my breathe at the different towers and take pictures; I also stopped to save a little gecko from being trampled on the stairs.  

When I finally reached the top, it took about one and a half hours with the stops to take pictures and rest.  I met the rest of the first group and took pictures for them as they were the first heroes.  When I finished taking those pictures I went up to the top of the tower and looked around.  The scenery was beautiful and I looked at everyone that had carved their names into the bricks of the tower.  A little while later, the rest of the group finally made it to the top.  We took more photos of all the International students, 

Midnight Train to Beijing: Tian 'An Men Square and The Forbidden City

Our much anticipated trip to Beijing was finally here.  After spending a few hours worrying about what clothes and uniforms to pack we finally went to the railroad station and boarded the night train to Beijing.  The train ride was pretty comfortable; each room had four beds with a tv at the end and had enough space for all of our luggage.  As we settled down for the night we turned on the tv and were surprised to find movie channels that were playing Iron Man 2 and Toy Story in English.  When those movies finished we went to sleep to rest up for a full day in Beijing.  

Our first stop was Tian 'An Men Square.  It was really crowded even though there was a big open space.  We didn't have time to go see where Mao's body is laid to rest as the line was at least 2 hours long.  However, we got photos of everyone with Mao in the background.  

After taking a group photo we headed towards the Forbidden City.  The Forbidden City was enormous and breathtaking.  Each temple inside was more elegant than the next.  It was a fight to get in the front of each temple as everyone was trying to take a picture to see where the emperor lived and the different quarters for each temple.  

Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven.  As we walked to the Temple of Heaven there were people dancing inside of the park where it was located.  It was nice to see them all dressed up and dancing to cultural music, some of us even tried to dance but failed miserably.  

By dinnertime we were all exhausted and wanted to get to the hotel and take a nice long shower.  For dinner we had a buffet, no it wasn't a Chinese food buffet, but it was mostly American food.  It was not something that I had expected, it had spaghetti, chicken fingers, french fries, pizza, onion rings, and other things that I can't remember.  When we finally got to the hotel we were surprised to find out that SMU only put 2 people in a room unlike our trip to DC and NYC which we had 4 people to a room.

After a hot shower I went to bed because I knew that I would need all the energy I could get for tomorrow.

French Concession

Shanghai is known to host many foreigners either for vacation or for living while working in Shanghai. So this weekend we decided to visit the French Concession to see a new side of Shanghai we had not seen so far, and because it was our friends Sandra birthday. She is one of the three German International students who make up the ten students of the International Maritime Business major here at Shanghai Maritime University. She had herd about a famous German restaurant that was located in the French Concession so we decided to have lunch and wish her a happy birthday at the restaurant. I must say German food is amazing and we also returned for dinner, which to our surprise turned into a very fun night. We enjoyed the food and live band that played while everyone enjoyed their dinner. It was nice to have dinner while a live band played in the background and saw an older crown of all nationalities interact and relax while enjoying the music. All of the students that participated in our trip to the French Concession decided to buy some roses for Sandra since she is the "mom" of our group of friends, so that was our token of appreciation to her.
-2/c E. Ramos

USCG Club

Hello friends, for this Friday post, I figured I would do a nice informational add about one of the newest clubs to hit the ground running here at MMA. People always hear how you can earn your U.S. Coast Guard License here at the Academy, however, you never here about how you can actually get a commission as an officer in the USCG. Thanks to the initiative by 4/C Harvey, a former enlisted member in the Coast Guard, he created the MMA United States Coast Guard Club. It is a organization here that allows all cadets who are interested in joining the Coast Guard as enlisted or officer to learn what the USCG has to offer and what one needs to do to reach their goal. I joined the club early on and I have to say, it's great. Every morning at 0530, we have physical training to get us in shape for the Coast Guard standards we will all have to meet. I have to say, I personally can feel the difference. Along with our PT, some cadets and myself even took a road trip to the Coast Guard Academy to purchase pants, belts, and boots used by the cadets for our own personal PT. I have to say it's pretty intense every morning. The club is also working on setting up tours at local and regional USCG stations so we can see for ourselves what these men and women do on a day to day basis and learn from them first hand. It is a fine club and I recommend it to all cadets here at MMA who want to be a member of the USCG and to sign up and join the fun.   

First Annual Advisory Board Appreciation Dinner!

Tonight we had our First Annual Advisory Board Appreciation Dinner, and I am so happy with the amount of alumni I was able to meet there. I spoke with gentlemen from the class of '61 who was telling me all about how they lived on the ship and the majority of what the campus is now was just summer cottages. I love talking to alumni and professionals who went to MMA back when it was just an Engine or Deck because it reminds me how far the school has come. The Admiral gave an inspiring speech tonight about all of the recognition and awards we have gotten within the past few years; not to mention how high our graduation rate is this year and how we are welcoming in August the biggest  incoming class. It is truly an exciting time to be a student here. 

Tonight I got to take a group of advisors into the Bridge Simulator (and even included an awesome video of what it is like in the simulator) and even though I have been in there three or four times I am still amazed at how life like it is.There were so many adults I had to convince that the floor was not moving! If you have never been in there, you have to make sure you take the time to go inside! I think MMA stands out compared to the more traditional colleges because of how much hands on experience we get; sea term, co-ops, internships and our simulators that are state of the art. Seeing the alumni's face, the cadets faces and the members of the advisory board reminded me why I came to MMA in the first place. It is a small industry, although the amazement and opportunity that go along with it are life changing. Whether there was a 60 year old man, or a 20 year old cadet their eyes still glowed when in the simulator and that is what it is all about; the connections that we have with alumni and those in the industry are ones to be admired and treasured. In the picture above is LCDR Hunke and Dr. Bani Ghosh who has been a role model of mine since coming to the Academy. Not only has Dr. Ghosh traveled the world and studied in exciting places such as Australia, but she is inspiring and believes in her students. 

What a great night!

It's about that time

Well here we are folks, half way through the semester; crunch time has begun. Deficiencies have gone out ( I'm in the clear) and the finish line is getting closer and closer. I have been pretty busy since my return from Eagle with makeup homework; getting it done though. Besides the schoolwork, we have the Petty Officer Program coming to an end with the PT test completed, applications in, and the first ever leadership conference completed. In the next few weeks, fellow cadets and myself will find out if we will be the new Squad Leaders. The anxiety is killing us as the last phase of the program comes closer, our interviews. I'm getting ready for it as much as I can. Tonight is a busy night as well with numerous meetings going on. Tonight there is a mandatory meeting for all emergency management cadets discussing the work done by the MMA cadets who spent their winter down in Haiti. It should be a extremely interesting presentation and a possible idea for an intern for the future...plus there are refreshments. All in all, it's getting busy around here at MMA and one can't let their guard down. Time for overdrive.   

Reflection

This morning was the first annual leadership conference hosted for the senior and junior staff next year. What a wonderful idea to dedicate a day to team-building and mentoring for the incoming staff.  We spent the first hour going over the Plan of the Day and then broke up into smaller groups to get mentoring from those that we will (hopefully) be taking over for next year. The second hour we went out to the Clean Harbors Stadium doing team-building exercises such as making a 5 pointed star without talking or the game of acceleration telephone where we exchange pad lock combinations while running it along to one another. We finally wrapped up speaking about sexual harassment, bullying and hazing.  This Wednesday I have my final ComCad interview at 06:15, and I can honestly say that I have never wanted anything more than Regimental XO With everything riding on this interview the pressure is on. There are quite a few other people going for the same positions as I am and now I feel that I need to just go into the interview and be honest and genuine. ComCad goes through a new group of staff every year and ultimately they know best so wherever they put me (even if that is not in the Regimental wedge) I know that I just wasn't meant to be in that position and I can be of help somewhere else.

This week I also received another internship offer in New York working for a marine software company which is along the lines of what I want to do after school and now I am facing a very tough decision. Many of my friends back home work at restaurants or are bartending to try and make some money while at school and I think that based on the skills and leadership that MMA has offered me is the reason why I now have 4 offers for the summer. Great paying offers, that are in the maritime industry and will potentially be job offers come the fall.

With only one year left and all of the many decisions on my plate, I am reminded why I went to MMA; for the jobs, the opportunity and the friendships I do not think I would have had anywhere else.

Dream Come True!

Heave Ho

At the Helm

Ships Doctor, NOAA Trainee, and myself.

Sunset on Eagle

Hey folks, I have returned from my days at sea from aboard America's Tall Ship, the U.S. Coast Guard Barque Eagle. It was without a doubt one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I reported to Eagle April 5th with me thinking I would be sailing with cadets from the USCGA, but soon realized that I would be sailing with USCG officer candidates (OC) and NOAA Corp trainees (OIT). For an aspiring Coast Guard officer, that fact that I would be sailing with active duty USCG and NOAA future officers who have had experience in all walks of life in this service was a perfect opportunity for me to learn. Along with these men and women, I would be sailing a a variety of guest from fellow cadets from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, a former Marine Corp Colonel, a author, a old salty fisherman, some characters from Mystic Seaport (one being a professional sea scantier), and even a MMA grad. We set sail from New London on that Friday and started our voyage toward New Orleans. It was a two week voyage with included things such as celestial navigation, leadership, and sea shanty classes, sailing stations (unfurling the sails of the ship), and even bingo night. Along with all this I was assigned to a watch group which allowed me to work alongside the OCs and OITs and learn about their experiences and get advice in a future career in the USCG. It was a voyage full of surprises, especially when we made a pit stop half way in Key West, Florida to pick up a part for the engine, pick up a Admiral to sail with us the rest of the way, had a swim call, and even witness a USCG HC-144 airdrop. To finish the voyage, we sailed up into the Mississippi River and made our way to the Big Easy and stopped on the way to pic up numerous dignitaries from admirals to politicians and make salutes to fellow tall ships. The trip ended to soon for me, I could of sailed for the entire summer. I learned so much from all on board, even finishing the crews requirements for lookout and helmsman, and met some great individuals. I will always remember that voyage and be thankful to all on board. It was an honor to represent Mass Maritime on such a great ship and now I'm more motivated then ever to achieve my goals. Thanks Capt. Jones and Eagle for making a dream come true.   

A little bit of fun!

Last weekend I went back to my parents house in Watertown, Ma. I went to a comedy show staring Collin Mochire and Brad Sherwood. If you haven't heard of these two before perhaps you have seen or heard of the show "Whose line is it anyway"? If not I recommend looking at some of the youtube videos for the show. Its a improv comedy show were there are 4 comedians that are given themed games to play and they have to come up with everything they do right on the spot. It is absolutely ridiculous the things they come up with. Well back to the story, both Collin and Brad performed in the same improv style as the show, absolutely hysterical.

Also last weekend my family and I celebrated Greek Easter. It started with church in the morning and a multigenerational gathering of family. It was cool to see the different generations interact like the 40 somethings were still kids in the eyes of their parents.

The Marathon Cookout

We are at the halfway point of our semester in China and our professors and friends from the Environmental Engineering program here at SMU wanted to have another get together.  Our Oceanography teacher, Xing Xiaoli, is going to be leaving for Canada for do more research and as a goodbye we had a cookout at the local park 15 minutes away from campus.  To be honest, we were a little cautious about a Chinese BBQ because of all the different foods offered here.  We took the local bus to the park and walked a short distance to a place that was right on the shore of the man-made lake.  Our professors were already there and they had brought their spouses so we introduced ourselves.  While we waited for the grill to warm up we taught people how to throw the football around.  For the most part, everyone did pretty good considering it was their first time, but a few people had difficulty trying to get a good spiral.  

After the grill was warmed up the teachers brought out the food, it was two huge coolers full of different food.  I can't say that I was shocked at the food, because I figured we weren't getting hamburgers and hot dogs, but we had almost everything else and all of it was on a stick.  We started off with chicken, leeks, mushrooms, and beef.  When it was done grilling we put different spices and seasoning on the food, some was spicy and some were peppery, however everything was phenomenal.  A few of us manned the grill for a while as we let the first group that cooked have a chance to eat as well.  I enjoy grilling back at home so I volunteered first, it was pretty easy because all I had to do was brush the vegetables and meat with a little bit of oil and rotate the everything so it was cooked evenly.  

We started this BBQ at 11 and we didn't leave until 4 in the afternoon.  Someone was manning the grill for the entire time cooking more meat, squid, bread, corn on the cob, different mushrooms, sausage, even mackerel.  The professors had brought too much food and towards the end of the BBQ, most of us had been put into food comas.  We gave some of the cooked away to the workers that came by to take our trash and other people that had passed by.  It was fun teaching everyone how to throw the football and we brought a soccer ball to play with but the ground was rocky and had a lot of gravel.  The area was great to fly a kite in because it was very open and it was on the water so there was a fairly strong breeze.  We didn't fly a kite but people next to us did.  At one point a car flew by our area and managed to catch a string of a kite which pulled the kite into a tree.  We felt bad because it was a little boy's kite too, so we helped him retrieve it from the tree.

 

Professor Feng brought his wife to meet us and we got a chance to talk about my family and about Massachusetts Maritime Academy.  She was very interested in talking to me because even though I am Chinese, I can't speak very good Mandarin.  Professor Xing also brought her baby girl to meet us.  She was really adorable, we played catch with her with the football and pass the soccer ball too.  She wasn't able to talk yet but she was able to wave hello as we said Ni hao, and even played hide and seek with us for a little bit.

Warmer Weather

I believe Spring has finally arrived. This weekend the Mens Crew Team traveled to Lowell, MA to compete against UMASS Lowell, Colby, and Coast Guard. We took third and only lost to Coast Guard by 5 seconds. the best part of the day wasn't the racing. It was the amazing weather. It was warm, sunny, and almost no wind. it certainly wasn't the weather we have been used to down on the cape.

A couple weeks ago I went to the Students United Leadership Conference at Framingham State University. I have to say, I was extremely disappointed. The conference was more of a outcry for funding rather than leadership. I felt as if someone was trying to hold my hand and talk about feelings rather than discuss leadership. The fact was, the training and knowledge I have received at MMA about leadership has put myself and my fellow cadets way above other students. The five of us that went to the conference stuck out, not only because we were wearing our dress blues, but because we presented ourselves differently. We stood tall and spoke with conviction. I am not trying to say that the students that were also there are not leaders. They are simply not at the level that we are at. I did take some things away from this conference. One thing was a different look on accomplishing a task and how to use the people you are leading to accomplish the task at hand. I think the conference can use a lot of improvement in area of leadership. I am sure that it will develop into an excellent conference one day.

Pictures from the conference.

Shanghai Maritime University has been very welcoming and is always trying their hardest to make sure all the International students see the best that Shanghai has to offer. The school set up a day trip in order for us to see the Shanghai Circus World that I must say was very impressive. However, that was not the only event they set up for us, before the show we enjoyed a wonderful traditional Chinese dinner at the restaurant located next to the circus. The food was amazing and I believe it was over 30 people that came on the trip. Sixteen cadets from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, three students from Germany, three students from Poland, two students from Russia, two students from Korea, three International Professors with one being Captain Belle and four representatives from Shanghai Maritime University. This attraction was one I really wanted to see and almost ended up going to see it last weekend but luckily I waited and was able to enjoy it with everyone else.

The circus act is done everyday from 1930 until 2130 with an intermission of five minutes at 2030. What was surprising were the incredible acts that were performed. The event started with a guy balancing himself on a piece of wood while on top of a cylinder while kicking plates and catching them with his head. The next act included about eight males where they would run and do backflips as they jumped through rings that were nine to ten feet high it was amazing seeing how high they jumped and able to bend their body as they jumped through the various ring sizes. The acts performed by the acrobats always had everyone on the edge of their seats, at least I know I was on the edge of my seat. From standing on top of a revolving ferris wheel type of structure while jump roping with no safety harness to climbing on top of each other three people high. Many times I have visited the local fair and have seen the "Motorcycle Globe" where motorcycle thrill riders ride inside a 14ft diameter metallic sphere. I have seen it performed with two to three motorcycles inside but Shanghai Circus World took it another step to close out the event with a total of eight motorcycles at once. Overall the traditional Chinese dinner and the Shanghai Circus World were very amazing and everyone who attended walked away very impressed. I know that before I leave China I would like to visit the Shanghai Circus World one more time!

-2/c Eduardo Ramos

Sci-Tech Girl Expo

Before I talk about what I did this weekend, I hope that you were able to look outside and see the stars this weekend. We live in a world that is far too busy for our own good, and often overlook how beautiful mother nature can be. I hope you got to see the stars and the full moon this weekend. Saturday night, my boyfriend and I just sat along the canal and watched how high the tides were!  It was amazing.

I haven't been feeling great these past few days, and I am thinking I might be getting a cold. Luckily, our nurse's office or binnacle as we refer to it here, was able to give me a bit of medicine before my busy weekend. Needless to say, I have been running on Dayquil. 

This Saturday MMA hosted their second annual Sci-Tech Girl Expo and it was a blast! Our Expo revolved around the many different STEM career opportunities that young girls that were there will hopefully consider for a career. These included Meteorology, Optometry, CSI Forensics, Food Engineering, Marine Animal Specialist,  Veterinarian and Clinical Laboratory Testing. Regretfully, I was not able to attend all of the classes that were being offered for the girls to attend but I have to say that I think I learned more than I was expecting, I even got to learn how to lift finger prints off of a beaker. I could not believe how focused and determined these 8-12 graders were about their future and their excitement towards going into these STEM field. For those of you who may not be familiar with what STEM is: it stands for Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. I helped escort a group of about 10 or so girls around to these different sessions and listened as they asked such engaging and questions. I have to say I was impressed! Do you recognize the woman Arthur and I are standing with? That's right! Cindy Fitzgibbons from Fox 25 News was there to talk all about meteorology.

  

Dinner with some Good Friends

Not much has happened over the past few weeks.  I have been busy with my classes by preparing presentations, studying for midterms and other tests.  The other night some of our friends from our classes wanted to experience some of the food that we make in America and in return, they would cook some traditional Chinese food.  We had originally planned to make a type of pasta dish, however, when we went to the market off campus they didn't have the same type of pasta that we have in America.  So we had to improvise and came up with different breakfast foods.  I had decided to make them some french toast because of the limited resources we had at the market and in the small kitchen we have in our dormitory.  

The girls started cooking for us first because it took longer to prepare.  They cooked us a version of scrambled eggs with garlic and soy sauce, sauteed onions with pork in orange sauce, and beef with garlic and onions.  They also prepped some chicken wings and set them aside for later.  Once they were done it was my turn to cook.  I know french toast isn't exactly a traditional food in America but they have never had it.  I told them it was very easy and showed them how to cook the french toast.  The market didn't have any syrup or anything so it was just plain, however they enjoyed it.  One of the girls, Monica, liked it so much she made it when she went to downtown for the weekend and poured honey on it instead of syrup.

Other friends started showing up and brought even more food.  They went down to the local shops and picked up some fried rice and some BBQ things like chicken satay, fried fish balls, and chinese sausage.  After I had cooked the french toast, Rich Lutter made some egg and sausage breakfast sandwiches that were also very delicious.  

We were all very full from our other dishes but then the girls started to cook the chicken wings.  It took a little while so it gave us a chance to digest our food.  The chicken wings were marinating in garlic and soy sauce and then cooked with Coke.  I was a little skeptical with the Coke-flavored chicken but it turned out to be pretty good.  It was a little too sweep for my liking but everyone else enjoyed it.  After we ate all the food, we just sat and talked about the differences in cultures, things to do while in China, and various other subjects.  It was a very entertaining night for everyone and we are planning on having an actual BBQ once the weather gets nicer.

Sailing Away...Again! It's Eagle Time!

Some friends and I visiting the ship last year.

USCG Barque Eagle

Hey folks, remember a few post back when I said " you bet I'm going back to sea"; well, I'm doing just that for the next two weeks. My bio says that one day I want to serve the military as an officer and that being the reason I came to Mass Maritime. I have had a firm interest in joining the U.S. Coast Guard since I was younger and Sea Term and just being at the Academy has affirmed that desire to serve in this branch. Now starting tomorrow, a dream of mine is coming true as I prepare myself to set out with the cadets of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and sail with them for two weeks aboard their training vessel, the USCG Barque Eagle, the 295 foot tall ship. Along with the USCGA cadets, officer candidates, and fellow cadets from the other maritime academies, I will be training and experiencing life on Eagle and have an adventure that very few outside of the Coast Guard have ever done. It should be the experience of a lifetime and I can't wait. Only at MMA can someone get an experience like this. I'm sailing away again folks and many stories to come when I return in two weeks. Wish me luck! Talk to you all soon.

Marshall Island Registry!

This morning the Junior class had a meeting regarding Ring Dance hosted by our Class President, and our Deputy Commandant of Cadets. We went over protocol and reserving a hotel for the night in Boston. Our Ring Dance is May 19th at the Park Plaza, and my experiences since going the past two years have proven to be a blast, I am excited that it is finally my turn! Our shipmates that Commercial shipped all over the world were able to get water from individual seas from around the globe and we will be dipping our class rings into the water combined. What a great tradition!

Today I worked in the Writing Resource Center and then went to my classes, although after classes I got great news! I called the Senior Vice President of Maritime Operations, that I met at the CMA Conference a few weeks ago, and at first he did not respond. I thought that he must be busy, and I was low on the priority list anyway, however I sent him an email and wrote that I had called and left a voice mail, and that I would be able to talk whenever he was available. Within 10 minutes after sending the email he called me back and said that he was impressed that I took the time to send a follow up email and offered me the internship on the spot. So I will be working for the International Registry Inc, also known as the Marshall Island Registry. It is the third largest shipping registry in the world, sharing about 6% of the world's tonnage, after Panama and Liberia. We spoke about money and the details of the internship for a while. We ended the conversation by him telling me that the HR department will be contacting me soon and that he was impressed by my enthusiasm and initiative. What a great way to end my day!

Pillars of EM

There are 4 basic steps for an emergencey manager. These pillars are Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.

Mitigation : To become milder or less sever. This is a very important first step for obvious reasons. An example of mitigation is the use of a cooling fan and proper ventilation of your computer. This helps keep the internal components cool under normal operation thus decreasing the likelihood of overheating.

Preparedness : A state of readiness, Being prepared before an emergency is paramount. To carry on the computer example. Being prepared would be to backup your hard drive in case there should be some kind of failure internally

Response : Action(s) taken : Following a predeveloped plan can for a specific emergency can make or break how an emergency is addressed. With your computer that now has had a failure you have a few options because you were prepared for this. So during the repair time you still have business continuity. Say you did not have the back up. Now you have a much longer down time and much higher repair costs that are not only financial but also the physical loss of data is going to cost you.

Recovery : The process of bringing services back to there original state, Since you have prepared for this emergency you have a very limited down time and you can still access all of your critical information like your new dubstep music and that paper you procrastinated until the last day on. Your recovery period was short because of the steps you took before something happens.

Please excuse me while I back up my computer now!

RIP John Garvey

They say that only the good die young, and I learned this weekend that the saying hits home to the MMA Community as well. This Sunday, our very own John Garvey was killed in a motor vehicle accident and had to have the jaws of life used to get him out of the vehicle. John Garvey was recent graduate from MMA in December 2011, Marine Engineer who graduated MMA in only 3.5 years. I did not know him very well, but just by being in MMA (since our school is so small) I knew who he was. Many of my youngies also had him as a hold captain on this past Sea Term. It is a tragic and terrible thing to happen, especially since he was so young and had so much left to live. This Friday I will be attending his funeral with the Honor Guard as a "sideboy."

At morning formation we have been flying the flag at half mast in his honor and will continue to do so for the remainder of the week. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers. If you are interested in more information, the post of the accident is here.

On a lighter note, I met so many companies at the CMA Conference and contacted many of those that I met and thanked them for speaking with me. One of the companies, the International Shipping Registry is interested in having me as an intern in Reston, Virginia and tomorrow at 1600 I have a conference call with them to discuss such a great opportunity. Wish me luck! I would love to be able to work for them one day, so this would be a great experience.

Mount Washington Adventure

After a hard week at school, what would be the first thing you would do to start off your weekend? If you answered climb a mountain, then we think exactly alike. Last Friday, a group of my fellow cadets and I set out on a quest to climb the harrowing Mount Washington, a mountain so grand yet terrifying, it has claimed the lives of many over the years. As we made our way to New Hampshire, it was not fear that filled our hearts, but pure motivation to take up the challenge. That night we were ready to take on that mountain...but couldn't find the trail and a place to camp. It was a roadblock in our plan, but it didn't stop us. Being Maritimers, we would stand watch in the car while we took turns sleeping in the vehicle. Also, we want to say thanks to New Hampshire State Police Troop F for allowing us to sleep in their parking lot. We started the march early that morning at 0600 with packs on our backs and hiking sticks in hand. It was a treacherous hike up the mountain, it was a cold and steep hike to the top. We hiked for 5 hours and made it to the treeline with the end in sight. At the final stretch though, one of our shipmates was not able to finish the hardest leg of the hike, and we made the decision to turn around and head back. Even though we were not able to finish the trek, we saw some beautiful sights and had quite the adventure. Next time, we go IN THE SUMMER!

Students United Conference!

This Friday I was lucky enough to be one of the five cadets selected to go to the Students United Conference hosted at Framingham State. It was an all day conference, with many of the Massachusetts State Leaders discussing and learning all about leadership and how we can better our schools. We left school early in our dress blues and arrived early, so we were able to roam around Framingham State until the Conference started and looked into their different classrooms and buildings. When it began, it was obvious that we stuck out pretty badly, but in our small group discussions even other schools took notice to how we are so different from other students- and they weren't talking about the uniform either. We got so many comments about how we were so confident and came across years older.

We met a motivational speaker named Michael Miller who spoke with us about how culture impacts our leadership and how each of us how different styles. I thought it was a great conference; it was so nice to meet people from different schools. While roaming around Framingham State, we saw a poster for their Sea Term, although I highly doubt it is anything like ours! I hope you had a good weekend.