Xavier Smith | Jul 17, 2021 | 2 min read

My First Experience with Youth Maritime Collaborative

On my first field trip for the Youth Maritime Collaborative, I was instantly greeted and welcomed and felt included throughout the trip. We were hosted by the Executive Director at the Tacoma Youth Marine Center, Monique Valenzuela. As I waited for the rest of the team to arrive Monique welcomed me with a smile and showed me around the facility and the fascinating history of the marine center. Once everyone arrived, we were paired up with the Sea Scouts program members and assigned a certain field of operating a vessel and split off with our partners to educate us. They took us aboard the vessel that the Sea Scouts scouts practice on called the Charles N. Curtis.

I was assigned deck crew and before we set off, we were shown how to perform a complete safety inspection on all parts of the vessel. My partner was very informative and welcoming and in a few minutes made me feel like I was part of the crew.

Once we set off, I was shown how to release the ropes and work as a team to get the vessel out into the water. Once we were on our way, the fresh breeze and the great view of Tacoma I never knew existed were amazing. The 2 hours that we spent out on the water felt like 30 minutes by the time I got back.

Throughout the whole experience, it made me think about joining the Sea Scouts myself considering I would be surrounded by young adults like myself who enjoy being out on the water. One of my favorite parts was actually being able to steer the ship which took a lot more strength than it seems. I’ve never been very familiar with the maritime industry before the trip but by the end of the day, I learned many new things and had a lot of memorable experiences. This trip introduced maritime to me in a whole new way and I hope that it can do the same for anyone else who wants to give it a try.

Contact

Email: info@maritimeblue.org

Youth Maritime Collaborative

Where Opportunity Sets Afloat

Guiding youth toward adventurous careers in the maritime industry through paid internships, experiential learning events, and thoughtful career exploration with a specific focus on equity and inclusivity.

Skip to content