Since Texas A&M University reopened its campuses at the start of the fall semester, there were many safety precautions taken to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The requirement to wear a face mask was one.
Seeing the need for masks and being a small, tight-knit department of students, faculty and staff, the Department of Ocean Engineering quickly took this one step further. With a new student-led initiative and organization focused on providing support to students on both the College Station and Galveston campuses, participants in this program are now working to supply the ocean engineering family with custom face masks, information and more.
“Mentorship in Ocean Engineering (MOE) is designed to help students excel academically, develop their professional network and build a sense of community within the ocean engineering department,” said Alexis “Lexi” Miller, senior and program leader. “We noticed that the department could use the help of a new organization to lead students down the path of success and that a three-tier (academic, professional, social) system was the best way to accomplish this. Professor Laurrie Cordes, our faculty advisor, is a very successful woman in engineering and we feel honored that she is supporting our goals.”
While MOE's original goals for the fall semester included service and social events like a beach cleanup at the Galveston campus, career fair and interview preparation, and tutoring sessions, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic shifted their focus.
“Instead of letting this chaotic time affect our dedication to improving the ocean engineering department, we decided to find ways to adapt,” said program chairman and senior Sebastiao Appleton Figueira. “Not only have we managed to arrange ways to conduct our events remotely, but we were also able to start an initiative within the department aimed at keeping our students, faculty and staff safe throughout the semester.”
This initiative included working with department head Dr. Sharath Girimaji to order custom ocean engineering face masks for students, faculty and staff on the College Station and Galveston campuses. Additionally, the organization produced pamphlets on how to care for the facemasks, how to properly social distance on campus and safe event ideas that follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and university COVID-19 guidelines.
In addition to preparing their peers for classes during COVID-19, professional representative and junior Steven Bradshaw said he hopes that MOE’s professional initiatives stand to benefit students as well. For example, the group has created a networking system in which undergraduate students will be mentored by industry professionals.
“This program will allow mentors to shape the career paths of our students by providing them with professional and academic advice and sharing their experiences in the ocean engineering field,” said Bradshaw. “We believe this will help students decide which industry they would like to go into, given that we hope to have mentors from naval architecture, offshore, subsea, defense and coastal engineering.”
This will also enable students to begin developing their professional network to use for internships and full-time recruitment, all while still working on their studies. Bradshaw said by providing academic support, professional mentors and events on both campuses, MOE will also give students a chance to make lasting friendships, build their GPA and be better prepared to succeed in industry.
Sam Janner, senior and academic representative, added that MOE welcomes all undergraduate students interested in ocean engineering to join.
“We also want to make sure to let undeclared freshmen know that they are free to join this organization and utilize its resources if they would like to explore their options with our department and field,” said Janner. “The creation of this new organization really shows how much the Department of Ocean Engineering has grown in recent years.”
Janner said that many students will begin receiving emails from MOE at the start of each semester and the group will hold introductory meetings to anyone interested.
Along with emails, Nate Baker, junior and social representative, said the group plans to grow their communication to help the ocean engineering student body on both campuses come together and get to know one another via social media and Slack.
“I am excited to be part of a new organization led by highly motivated students who are set on building relationships between their peers, their department and members of the industry,” said Baker. “We have ambitious goals and, as we approach completing them, the benefits will pay off.”