May activities

  My duties in the IPO have drastically changed with the incoming month of June.  However in May, aside from sneaking out to see the commissioning week excitement around the yard, I actually accomplished more in my first 4 weeks than I anticipated to all summer.  Most of it was helping my mentor catch up on things that the office desperately needed done, but didn't have the time or man power to do.

  The first task I started with were fact sheets for all the countries we send midshipmen to.  These included basic things like capital, population, ethnicities, religions, etc (which hopefully the mids already know).  But the exciting part was putting together a cultural section.  This is where having studied abroad and traveled a lot came in handy.  For example, I spent nearly the first 2 months in Spain answering the phone "Hola?" the equivalent to Americans' "Hello?"  When in fact, Spaniards say "Díme," which literally means "tell me" as soon as they pick up the phone.  Finding little nuances like this proved difficult yet fascinating, especially for the countries I essentially knew nothing about like Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Morocco.  I have become much more cultured and inspired to stay current in world news.  In fact, just the other day there was a devastating fire near the school where we will be sending 2 mids this fall in Qatar, which I read about in the news.

   Another task I was especially proud of was compiling a list of transfer credits.  I made a multi-tabbed spread sheet (I've very quickly taught myself excel) with each major and the courses that will transfer from each foreign institution, organized by language.  It was incredibly tedious, time-consuming, and required a lot of translating.  However, this will be, and already has been useful for mids interested in certain programs that want to see what courses will apply to their major.  The final document was sent to department heads, the Dean of academic affairs, and most nerve-wrackingly, my director.  I got a quick response of "great work."  If you knew my director, this is like a billion dollars :)

   I've also been working with the website a bit, I've coordinated & assigned midshipmen who have previously studied abroad to incoming exchange students, compiled pre-departure travel packets for the 48 mids we have going abroad in the fall, and helped record financial information.  I have been registered with the Dept of Defense to submit APACS (Aircraft and Personnel Automated Clearance System), which is the system that all military personnel, and associated military personnel (i.e. USNA professors and staff) must be entered in and cleared from to travel on official orders.  I have also sat in on a command brief for NETSAFA (Naval Education and Training Security Assistance Field Activity) officers visiting the USNA to learn about the training of future Naval officers.  This proved very interesting.  Most of the officers were from Saudi Arabia, with a few from Ukraine and other countries.  When the topic turned to women at the Academy, I felt very awkward being in a room full of men.  Although I respected the Colonel before, I especially respected him after his responses to the Saudi Arabians, who clearly were not in agreement that women should be at the USNA.  And finally,  I helped my mentor with a introductory session for rising Youngsters (what sophomores are called) to introduce our programs abroad.  This was neat, as it was a few days after the Herndon Climb and they were anxious to show off their bruises of triumph.

   For the month of June, I am working with our 2 newly commissioned Ensigns on the international midshipmen orientation which will last almost 2 weeks before Induction Day and the start to Plebe Summer.  More on this later- as it has already proven VERY interesting!