SAN DIEGO - A group of Houston-area educators packed their sea bags and spent the week of June 23-27 experiencing Navy life in San Diego.
Seven educators, along with personnel from Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Houston, spent the week touring various ships, submarines, special warfare programs and other Navy installations. The visit was part of a program called Educator Orientation Visit (EOV).
“The purpose of an EOV is to show educators the different jobs and opportunities the Navy provides so the educators can then relay that information to their students,” said Lt. Cmdr. Kiera Vernon, the operations officer at NRD Houston. “Many people think Navy and immediately think ships. The Navy has ships, but there are many other opportunities for Sailors. There are special warfare programs such as the Navy SEALs and explosive ordnance disposal units. There are aviation fields and there are opportunities in medical fields as well.”
The EOV also provided a chance for the educators to interact with active-duty Sailors, which is important because the educators take this information and experience home to better educate their students.
“As a parent and educator, I am interested in learning more about the armed services, especially the Navy,” said Bertha Fournier, a counselor at Willowridge High School. “Working with students, I needed to be reassured that I was comfortable enough to answer questions and concerns students may have when discussing post-high-school careers.”
The tour also allowed the educators to change their perspective of the Navy.
“I really enjoyed the aircraft carrier [USS Carl Vinson, CVN 70],” said Tonyika Forbes-Deese, the lead counselor at Mayde Creek High School. “We got the opportunity to see the Sailors in their element. I never thought of a ship as a community before.”
This sentiment was echoed by Fournier.
“I enjoyed all parts of this trip, no one area outshined the other because each area supports one another,” she said. “I liked the team support that was displayed from the top person to the person on the bottom.”
For George Long, an assistant principal at Stephen F. Austin High School, his perception of the Navy changed.
“My perception of the Navy has changed to more favorable,” he said. “I was not aware of all of the opportunities the Navy provides. These EOV trips should continue so educators can continue to see what the Navy has to offer to students who are leaving high school to prepare them for adulthood.”
One theme that continued along all stops of the trip was the importance of the areas of study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
“We are looking for the athletes and the smarts to meet the demands of our difficult program,” said Cmdr. David Blauser, the Executive Officer of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Eleven (EODMU11). “We are looking for highly-qualified individuals who excel in STEM classes.”
STEM programs are also important to set students ahead in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship applications said Lt. Andrew Long, an NROTC instructor at the University of San Diego.
“Programs such as EOV benefit the students,” Long said. “Educators can be made aware of opportunities in the Navy, especially NROTC for college-bound students. These educators play an extremely valuable role in the lives of students by advising them on opportunities they may not be aware of and the importance of STEM. These educators can find the qualified students who shine in STEM classes and promote NROTC as a way to go to college.”
Stressing the importance of STEM was not lost on the educators.
“I learned about so many programs the Navy offers,” said Forbes-Deese. “The NROTC scholarship requirements only gives me confirmation that my ideals in STEM classes are accurate and correct.”
After the trip, the educators now have a new tool in their box to better inform their students.
“I will share all of these experiences with my students,” said Deloris Golden, a counselor at Eisenhower High School. “I will tell my students not to be afraid to venture outside of their current surroundings, and there are a lot of opportunities out there. They should start learning discipline now and take STEM classes and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery [ASVAB, the test developed to predict future academic and occupational success in the military] test seriously.”
“This trip exceeded all of my expectations,” said Casey Nall, a counselor at the Dickinson High School college and career center. “We saw and did so much, it was a great experience. I am going to make a board of all the pictures to show students the unique opportunities in the Navy. If I had to do it all over again, I would have seriously looked into the Navy after I graduated high school.”
| Date Taken: | 06.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2014 19:10 |
| Story ID: | 135019 |
| Location: | HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Houston-area Educators live the Navy life in San Diego, by PO1 Jacob Dillon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
