What have you done since you graduated?: "I completed a semester at Tunxis Community College right away. After that, I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2004. I've been in the Coast Guard ever since and I am still on active duty. I am a Lieutenant and the Executive Officer of Station Fort Lauderdale in Florida. It's a search and rescue station. I manage personnel and budget, along with other facets of management."
Why did you choose that career path?: "I wanted to get into law enforcement, which is what I had planned to study in college. Then when I was in college, I felt the need to get out of the classroom for some hands-on learning. The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military that has domestic law enforcement training. I had a friend that had enlisted a little bit before me and helped me learn about both the pros and cons of the Coast Guard."
What do you remember from your time at Gilbert?: "I was involved with sports and music for all four years. I would say that a lot of the discipline you gain from both sports and music helped me the most. Academically, I wasn't necessarily a 'rock star' for most of my time. But, those two worlds of sports and music definitely kept me grounded. The music program I credit for a lot of that. It was a great experience and I made a lot of life-long friends during my time at Gilbert."
What lessons from Gilbert have you applied to the real world?: "I would say that Gilbert gave me the discipline to set goals and to stay disciplined. It also taught me to set goals that are attainable and reasonable. Your goals should not be necessarily immediate, but instead, they should be long term goals. That lesson has helped me a lot professionally.
I have moved through the ranks as a member of the Coast Guard and I credit that to the foundations of discipline that I learned at Gilbert."
What advice would you give to current students at Gilbert?: "Set goals and stay focused. Failure is good because we can learn from that. If you don't fail, then maybe you are not pushing yourself hard enough."
