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ENS Nicholas Chrobak is from Cleveland, Ohio and graduated
from the University of Dayton with a B.S. in Geology this year. ENS
Chrobak believes that the NOAA Corps will be an excellent way to explore
the scientific community while being able to travel. He enjoys hiking,
baseball, and rock and mineral collecting. For a change of scenery,
he hopes to work on the east coast.
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ENS Jennifer Dowling travelled to
BOTC 99 from her current home of Anchorage, Alaska. She graduated with
a B.S. in Geography from New Mexico State University, and has served as
a cartographer for the United States Geological Survey- National Mapping
Division in both Denver and Anchorage. ENS Dowling sought a commission
in the NOAA Corps as an excellent way to shift into charting the oceans
rather than mapping the land. ENS Dowling’s hobbies include fencing, judging
Science Olympiads, traveling with her husband, baking, and playing with
her hedgehog, "Little Michael Cole." She hopes to be posted to the
hydrographic survey ship Rainier for
her first 2 years of sea duty.
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ENS Roger Eggers lived in Los Angeles, California before
arriving at BOTC 99. He graduated with a B.A. in Biology from the University
of California at Santa Barbara in 1997, and a B.S. in Marine Transportation
from the California Maritime Academy (CMA) in May of 2000. ENS Eggers
earned his USCG Third Mate’s License while at CMA. He joined the NOAA Corps
because of his interest in working for the government in a scientific and
research capacity. As he says, NOAA’s mission “fits perfect.”
He enjoys S.C.U.B.A diving, sailing, snow skiing, and weight training.
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ENS Erik M. Eilers is from Clarksburg, Maryland and graduated
from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Physical Science with emphasis
in engineering, mathematics and meteorology. While in college he spent
his summers as a beach manager on the eastern shore of Maryland.
ENS Eilers interest in NOAA stems from his desire to travel and use his
degree in the field rather than in an office. His father was a pilot
of a P-3 Orion for the NOAA Corps, and has shared many interesting stories
about his career, which helped motivate ENS Eilers into joining the corps.
He enjoys road and mountain bike racing, surfing, skateboarding, camping
and diving.
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ENS Reina Garcia was
raised near Seattle, Washington where she earned her SCUBA and Private
Pilot's license by 1993. In 1997, after several research cruises
aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson, she graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Oceanography.
She has worked in Alaska as a field assistant for the Fisheries Research
Institute, and in March of 1998 began work as an oceanographer for the
Naval Oceanographic Office in Stennis, Mississippi. At the beginning
of 2000, she got the 'travel bug' and left her job to backpack around Europe
and the Middle East. Somewhere around Spain, she learned by email
that she was accepted into the NOAA Corps. She looks forward to combining
her love of science and the sea with the active, traveling military-type
lifestyle of the Corps. ENS Garcia hopes to follow her sea duty with
an assignment working on habitat restoration issues.
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ENS Richard Hester graduated from
Geogia Tech in Atlanta with a B.S. in International Affairs, minoring in
physics. He spent a year and a half as Program Coordinator of the
Chattooga Conservancy, an organization concerned with the "ecosystem management"
pilot project undertaken on the southern Appalachian forest watershed of
the Chattooga National Wild and Scenic River. In just under four
years in the U.S. Coast Guard, he served aboard the medium endurance cutter
ACTIVE in Port Angeles WA, and the patrol boat GALVESTON ISLAND and buoy
tender SASSAFRAS in Apra Harbor Guam. Discharged as a Quartermaster
First Class and a qualified underway Officer of the Deck, ENS Hester intends
to use his seagoing skills to support NOAA Corps missions. Eventually
he hopes to pursue graduate studies and work in the Office of Global Programs
of OAR.
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ENS Jessica Kondel is from Greensburg, Pennsylvania and
earned a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Oceanography from Florida Institute
of Technology (FIT). While at FIT, she conducted extensive research in
water quality and environmental impacts of local rivers and streams.
After leaving FIT, she began work on a Master's degree in Geoenvironmental
Science at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. During her studies
at Shippensburg, ENS Kondel continued to work in the field of local watershed
management on a project of stream restoration during an internship with
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Her hobbies include S.C.U.B.A diving,
hiking, and travelling.
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ENS Stephen Z. Kroening traveled to BOTC 99 from his hometown
of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota after graduating in May with a B.S. in Meteorology
and a B.A. in Communications Studies from the University of Nebraska.
While at the University of Nebraska, ENS Kroening conducted snow depth
and snow cover research and data analysis for the Nebraska State Climate
Center. He also worked in television with an internship as an on-air
meteorologist at KRDO TV13 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ENS Kroening
believes that a career in the NOAA Corps will be challenging, adventurous,
and most of all, fun. He is hoping to one day fly a P-3 Orion into
a hurricane.
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ENS Noah Lawrence-Slavas is from Shutesbury, Massachusetts
and earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic
Institute in May 2000. He expresses his interest in the NOAA Corps
as an “intense” interest in oceanography and environmental issues. ENS
Lawrence-Slavas enjoys water sports, especially sailing, hiking, skiing,
and boat building.
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ENS Bill Mowitt grew up in Arlington,Virginia,
and earned a B.A. in history from Williams College. While there,
he attended the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program and developed
an interest in performing science at sea. After working briefly as
an envrionmental consultant and sailing on tall ships, he attended graduate
school at the University of Maryland. ENS Mowitt recieved a Masters
degree in Marine-Estuarine Envrionmental science after writing a thesis on the
Bay Anchovy's effect on Chesapeake Bay plankton communites, and then he
worked for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources writing fishery
management plans. ENS Mowitt is interested in serving on a fisheries
vessel and enjoys a slew of outdoor activies as well as boat-building and
sailing.
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ENS Tom Peltzer came to BOTC 99 from his hometown of Andale,
Kansas. His career moved closer to the ocean when he received a B.S.
in Marine Science from Texas A&M University at Galveston in 1993, and
a Third Mate’s license as well. He served 3 years on active duty
in the Navy as the Air Transfer Officer and 2nd Division officer on the
USS INDEPENDENCE CV-62. ENS Peltzer feels that the NOAA Corps is
the best fit for his education and nautical training.
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ENS William Pierce hails from Tampa, Florida before coming
to BOTC 99. He graduated from the University of South Florida in
May 2000 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy. Before
serving as a forest ranger for 4 ½ years, he gained computer experience
throughout college as a computer technician. ENS Pierce sought a
commission in the NOAA Corps because he wished to do both science and service
in the field on hydrography. He hopes to be stationed on one of NOAA’s
hydrography platforms, particularly the Whiting.
He enjoys snorkeling, reading, hiking, racquetball, travelling, and boating.
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ENS Jason Seifert came to BOTC 99 from his hometown of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned a B.S. in Geography in 1997 and
a Masters in Geographic Information Services from the University of Minnesota
in May 2000. ENS Seifert has worked at the National Operational Hydrologic
Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC), a NOAA/National Weather Service office
in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He sought a commission in the NOAA Corps
to experience a variety of assignments along with hydrography and service
in Antarctica. His hobbies include downhill skiing, basketball, and
quilting.
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ENS Jeffrey Taylor hails from Tampa, Florida. He
holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of South Florida with a concentration
in Marine Zoology. He has prior military service in the Air Force,
where he served as a medical technician. He has a wife, Stephanie,
and two children: Marley, age 6, and Noah, age 2. ENS Taylor joined
NOAA to further his biological studies and to enjoy a career with a close
association with the ocean. His hobbies include S.C.U.B.A. diving,
surfing, fishing, maintaining salt-water aquariums and playing the guitar.
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ENS Jennifer Washburn is from Orlando, Florida.
She recently graduated with departmental honors from Johns Hopkins University
with a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences. While at school she
assisted with many research projects and also had an internship as a park
geologist at White Sands National Park in New Mexico. ENS Washburn
sought a commission with NOAA because she feels it is the best way to support
and contribute to the scientific community through research and leadership.
Her hobbies include camping, yoga, and experiencing new things.
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