Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Porterfield | Capt. Gervy Alota speaks with National Society of Black Engineers conference attendees...... read more read more
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ATLANTA– Navy Recruiting Command (NRC) in partnership with specialty recruiters across the nation came together to host a booth at the National Society of Black Engineering (NSBE) convention in Atlanta, March 21-22, 2024.
NRC outreach efforts were in full force at the conference to reach professional individuals. Top Sailors from around the country attended on behalf of the Navy to share how they have been forged through service and how attendees could begin the process for themselves.
“I think NSBE is an organization that gives these students the tools they need to be successful,” said Lt. Rafael J. Gonzalezcruz, the Deputy Project Superintendent at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. “I wanted to come to NSBE to share my story with young engineers who were in my shoes ten years ago.”
The conference drew 15,000 professionals seeking to build and connect with industry leaders and peers from around the nation. This gathering of STEM focused individuals was the perfect fit for NRC’s outreach team. This year’s team included Sailors such as Capt. Gervy Alota, the commander of Missile Warning Center, Colorado, Lt. Rafael J. Gonzalezcruz, the deputy project superintendent at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, Chief Navy Counselor Latonya Perossier, the community outreach manager at NRC and Chief Navy Counselor Wesley Lewison, the leading chief petty officer for marketing and advertising at NRC. Along with other high-profile Sailors, these individuals wanted to make sure they focused on motivating the next generation of engineers and show them how they have achieved total success in their career fields.
“I’m here at NSBE because it is important that diverse individuals know that the Navy has STEM and that we want to add their bright minds to our programs,” said Perossier. “This conference is so important to these forward-thinking individuals, and if I had attended back when I was early on in my career I would be looking for ways to be a part of the narrative that is an engineer.”
NSBE’s 50th convention brought in industry leaders from across the world and partnered with the Navy to tell their story. NRC’s media outreach team had the opportunity to interview Alota, a driving force of naval excellence and leadership, on their podcast “Talking Ship.”
Alota has been a naval leader for over 20 years. He recently took on a new form of mentorship on social media, telling his and his Sailor’s stories. Since 2020, Alota has amassed over 170k followers on Instagram, and is looking to create a positive impact on the Navy’s leadership mindset.
“I am so excited to be at NSBE, to have over 15,000 hungry, technological minded leaders here and to ‘infect’ them with Navy sea stories and show them that we exist,” said Alota. “This generation is insanely smart, and if you as a leader are not completely yourself you lose credibility and I think that we can show them who we are. We will inspire each and every person to achieve the greatness they would like to achieve.”
The media outreach team has been traveling the nation going event to event to talk to outstanding Sailor’s and hear their story on the new podcast “Talking Ship.”
“Whoever said you should never meet your hero’s never met Capt. Alota or Chief Perossier,” said Lewison. “While at NSBE interviewing them for our show, they gave insight into the lessons they learned throughout their impressive careers. We are really excited to debut these interviews coming in May.”
Over the course of two days, NRC’s outreach team was able to meet many people and show them the opportunity the Navy has to offer them.
Navy Recruiting Command consists of a command headquarters, two Navy Recruiting Regions and 26 Navy Talent Acquisition Groups that serve more than 815 recruiting stations across the world. Their combined goal is to attract the highest quality candidates to assure the ongoing success of America’s Navy.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2024 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 466928 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 21,661 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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