BOTC 106

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Class Biographies

Ensign Rebecca Jacklyn-Rhea Almeida

ENS Almeida recently received a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science/Meteorology from Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida. While attending college as a freshman studying computer science, she found that she didn't want to be in a programming cubicle for the rest of her career, so ENS Almeida entered the Meteorology program. Not knowing anything about the Meteorology profession or job market, she asked around and found NOAA's National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida. Later that year, she was offered a paying position at the NWS as a student meteorologist in NOAA's Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). ENS Almeida met with a NOAA Corps recruiter while attending a job fair at Florida Tech. This meeting eventually lead to her commission as a NOAA Corps officer. Special achievements she is most proud of include: finding her little niche in the world as a meteorologist, completing 99 hours of volunteer service at NWS Melbourne, flying with the Hurricane Hunters into Hurricane Isidore in September 2002, graduating with honors from Florida Tech, and accepting her commission with the NOAA Corps.

Lieutenant Joe C. Bishop

LT Bishop, a native Texan from San Antonio, is a 1996 graduate from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with an unlimited license as a 3rd Assistant Engineer. He received his commission into the U.S. Navy to attend flight training at Pensacola NAS. He graduated as a Naval Flight Officer and was assigned to VQ-4 as a navigator on the E-6A located at Tinker AFB. LT Bishop completed his tour at VQ-4 with the designation of Mission Commander for the nuclear command and control squadron. His follow-on assignment was to the 562nd Flying Training Squadron located at Randolph AFB as an instructor navigator to mentor Navy and Air Force students. At the end of his tour in the 562nd, he committed to an interservice transfer into NOAA. LT Bishop’s aspirations are to fly as a P-3 navigator for NOAA’s hurricane hunters after a successful sea tour.

Ensign Amy Cox

ENS Cox is originally from Michigan where she graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry. ENS Cox has worked in Alaska and California as a marine mammal fisheries observer. She enjoys diving, camping, hiking, cleaning skulls, and eating peanut butter pie. Because life is short and there is an amazing world out there to explore, ENS Cox looks forward to a NOAA Corps career of ever-changing adventures.

Ensign Jonathan French

ENS French was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He graduated from University of North Carolina, Asheville with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science in 2000. ENS French’s interest in the natural sciences is what drew him to the NOAA Corps. After a few attempts, he is now in BOTC 106 and starting a great career.

Ensign Michael Gonsalves

ENS Gonsalves was raised in a small town in Massachusetts. When the chance to attend college presented itself, ENS Gonsalves sought the warmer climes of Florida Tech. After earning undergraduate degrees in both Oceanography and Mathematics, ENS Gonsalves shifted from student to teacher. He spent two years under a teaching assistantship earning a Master’s degree, then spent three years on the Mathematical Sciences Faculty teaching freshman and sophomore level math courses. Now with the NOAA Corps, he is looking to get back to his salty roots by leaving the classroom and returning to the field. He’s optimistic that NOAA with give him the opportunity to draw on his background in math and the sciences.

Ensign Sam Greenaway

ENS Greenaway graduated in 1998 with a ScB degree in Physics from Brown University. Throughout many years of sailing boats around the waters of our world, he has been a regular consumer of NOAA charts, forecasts, and other marine products. He discovered the NOAA Corps largely by accident, but is happy to have found a place in the NOAA community, and looks forward to going to sea and contributing to NOAA's noble mission.

Ensign Tracy Hamburger

ENS Hamburger was born and raised along the southwestern banks of Lake Michigan in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She found herself attending college away from home at Texas A&M University- Galveston. Gig ‘em Aggies! Last August she graduated with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a USCG Third Mate’s License, Unlimited Oceans. Anxious to go to sea, ENS Hamburger boarded a merchant vessel in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in which she enjoyed the voyage as a mate. Ens. Hamburger is excited for her sea assignment to begin. In her free time, she likes to read, bike, cook, fish, and travel to new locales. ENS Hamburger thanks her family and friends for all their support.

Lieutenant Nathan H. Hancock

LT Hancock is originally from Gulf Shores, Alabama. He received his degree in environmental sciences and commission, second lieutenant, Army Corps of Engineers through the United States Military Academy. He served in the 3rd Infantry Division and the 36th Engineer Group during his 7 years in the Army. While attending the Engineer Captains Career Course, in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, LT Hancock completed his Masters Degree in Geology and Geophysics from the University of Missouri-Rolla. LT Hancock came to NOAA via an interservice transfer on July 30, 2004; trading his BDU’s and jungle boots for khakis and low-quarters.

Ensign Olivia Hauser

ENS Hauser hails from Montclair, New Jersey. She earned her B.A. in Biology from Franklin and Marshall College in 1998 and continued on for her M.S. in Biological Oceanography from the University of Delaware, College of Marine Studies in 2002. ENS Hauser gave up her 2-year temp job at Cendant Mortgage to spend the summer of 2004 at the NJ State Aquarium. She spent July and August enriching the minds of young marine scientists as a Summer Sea Camp counselor before embarking on the journey to Norfolk to begin training for the NOAA Corps. ENS Hauser enjoys traveling, swimming, biking, hiking and fiberglass nekton sampling. She looks forward to an exciting training class with BOTC 106 and starting her new adventure at sea with the NOAA Corps.

Ensign Paul Hemmick

ENS Hemmick, a native Southern Californian, obtained his B.S. degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Biology from Chapman University and a M.S. in Public Health from San Diego State University in May 2004. Since graduation, ENS Hemmick has worked as an Environmental Health Technician for the County of San Diego, a reserve firefighter/ EMT, and a volunteer for Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Looking forward to participating in the National Marine Sanctuary Program, ENS Hemmick hopes to work in a variety of offices and positions within the Corps. In his spare time, ENS Hemmick can most likely be found surfing, playing guitar, or working out in the gym.

Ensign Matthew Jaskoski

ENS Jaskoski is from Kingsport, Tennessee. He received his B.S. in Marine Science in 2002 from the University of South Carolina. He recently completed his M.S. thesis at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where his work focused on the aquaculture of the common New Zealand sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus. Other research projects that ENS Jaskoski has been involved with include: a species survey of stony corals in Akumal, Mexico, an ecological study of the sea urchins Psuedochinus spp. in Fiordland, NZ, and an impact study of mussel farms on underlying benthos in Marlborough Sounds, NZ. ENS Jaskoski enjoys SCUBA diving and playing guitar. He and his wife Megan are also avid hikers. ENS Jaskoski is eagerly anticipating his first sea assignment and hopes to contribute to work that will aid in the continuing development of prudent management policies for our marine fisheries.

Ensign Paul Kemp

ENS Kemp graduated with honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1998 with a degree in Operations Research and a commission in the Coast Guard. Upon graduation, ENS Kemp reported aboard the USCGC PLANETREE in Ketchikan, Alaska, as Communications Officer until the 55 year-old buoy tender was decommissioned in 1999. ENS Kemp reported to the USCGC DAUNTLESS in Galveston, Texas, and served as Assistant Operations Officer and First Lieutenant. In 2001, ENS Kemp reported to the USCGC GALVESTON ISLAND in Guam as Executive Officer. ENS Kemp was certified for command while aboard the GALVESTON ISLAND, and occasionally took the patrol boat underway as acting Commanding Officer for search and rescue, homeland security, and typhoon evasion. ENS Kemp resigned from the Coast Guard in 2003 and attended a post-baccalaureate program in Pre-Health at Columbia University to study advanced chemistry and biology.

Ensign Paul Kunicki

ENS Kunicki attended Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, and graduated with a B.S. in Physics and an emphasis in Computer Science. He was commissioned as an Engineering Officer in the United States Coast Guard and served on board the USCGC STORIS in Kodiak, Alaska, as a student engineer. He qualified as an Engineer Officer of the Watch, Officer of the Deck, Damage Control Apprentice, and a Gas Free Engineer. ENS Kunicki also served as Port Engineer and Contracting Officer Technical Representative at the Naval Engineering Support Unit in Honolulu, Hawaii. Following his commitment with the Coast Guard, ENS Kunicki graduated with a M.S. in Applied Mathematics and graduate certificate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Ensign Stephen Kuzirian

ENS Kuzirian was born and raised in Cranston, Rhode Island. He graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in 2000 with a Bachelors of Science in Ocean Studies, a concentration in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. After graduation, he moved to Peaks Island, Maine, located in Casco Bay off the coast of Portland, where he worked in sales until spring 2004. He enjoys swimming, traveling and science, and the NOAA Corps makes the perfect career to do all those activities. ENS Kuzirian looks forward to a challenging and exciting career in the NOAA Corps and hopes to continue his education to pursue a Masters degree in Meteorology and work with the National Weather Service.

Ensign Dan Orr

ENS Orr is from McLean, Virginia. He received a BS in Computer Science from George Mason University in 2001. Since graduation, he has worked as a web developer and XML specialist for the Department of the Navy. In his spare time, ENS Orr can be found changing diapers and playing with his two sons. ENS Orr’s nautical experience is limited to a recent whitewater rafting trip.

Ensign Tony Perry, III

ENS Perry, age 23, is from Visalia California. ENS Perry graduated May 2004 from California State University Monterey Bay. He received his degree in Earth Systems Science and Policy with a concentration in Marine and Coastal Ecology. ENS Perry started his college career following the family business of dairy science and then changed to follow his true passion, sharks. During his off time, you can usually find him scuba diving or helping with the NIADD (National Instructors Association for Divers with Disabilities). ENS Perry also enjoys rock climbing, mountain biking, snow and water skiing, or finding a new sport to make his mother nervous.

Ensign Lindsey Vandenberg

ENS Vandenberg comes from the small California central coast town of Morro Bay. A dancer for most of her 26 years, this former Star Search contestant traded her tap shoes for charismatic megafauna and earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2001. She has spent the last three years working as a project manager for Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Inc. in San Diego where she lives with her husband, Justin. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, geocaching, surfing and finding treasures where others see nothing unusual. ENS Vandenberg looks forward to putting her passion for the seas, biological background and enthusiasm for adventure to good use upon a NOAA fisheries vessel and eagerly awaits her first tour of sea duty.