Steering toward a career?
Southold 10th-grader enlisted in NJROTC creates customized career day
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Southold High School 10th-grader Chris Kirincic steers the Thomas Jefferson Friday morning. With the help of family members and his NJROTC instructor, Maj. Bill Grigonis, the science- and weather-obsessed 15-year-old was able to tour the vessel run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an organization he said he'd love to work for someday.
"I've always been obsessed with the weather," he said.
The Thomas Jefferson is a 17-year-old ship run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mapping the bottom of the Long Island Sound through Oct. 31. Crew members are civilian physical scientists and quasi-military officers, all working together to update the nation's underwater charts. They were recently featured in a series of articles in The Suffolk Times.
And after Chris read the first article about the boat, he knew he had to get onboard. He and his mother, Amy, asked his NJROTC instructor, Maj. Bill Grigonis, for help.
Maj. Grigonis thought it would be a fantastic match.
"They help the entire country," Maj. Grigonis said about the crew of the Thomas Jefferson. "Chris has an interest of doing something like that once he gets out of school. He wanted to see if this is something he wants to pursue."
Though the ship's commanding officer, Tod Schattgen, said NOAA rarely gets requests like this, the timing was perfect.
"The request came to the ship on Oct. 20th, and News 12 was scheduled to be aboard on the 24th," Cmdr. Schattgen wrote in a recent e-mail message. "Chris was available that day as well."
Southold High School principal Mary Fitzpatrick let Chris take a Friday off from school to visit the ship, because she knew the tour would open his eyes to career opportunities more than a morning of classes would.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," she said. "We're always looking for opportunities for kids."
Though he wasn't featured in the News 12 segment, Chris did get to steer the boat, participate in data acquisition and tour the engine room. He was the only one in his class to spend a day on a 208-foot state-of-the-art hydrographic survey ship.
"I think Chris was pretty overwhelmed and inspired by the experience," Cmdr. Schattgen continued in his e-mail. "He asked a lot of really good questions which indicated that he was absorbing lots of information."
Chris said he was alerted to the articles on the Thomas Jefferson through his uncle, Southold resident Tom Kennedy, who was enlisted in the Navy from 1992 to 1999. Mr. Kennedy said the work NOAA is doing is invaluable to the country's economy and ecology, and he would love to see his nephew participate.
"There's so many different ways we can benefit from what NOAA is doing," he said. "It would be a fantastic job. Hopefully this will help push him in the right direction."
Mr. Kennedy added that Chris probably would never have pushed for this customized career day without the backing of the Southold NJROTC and his instructor.
"Maj. Grigonis does a fantastic job with the kids," he said.
According to Maj. Grigonis, NJROTC students learn about government, leadership and community service. They clean up beaches, usher at plays, volunteer at the animal shelter, and even go Christmas caroling.
"They all find something they like," he said.
He added that very few of his cadets go straight into the military after high school, and that it isn't NJROTC's function to play recruiter.
"We don't push people into the military," he said. "These kids need to go to college."
Maj. Grigonis said SUNY Maritime College in New York City would be another great match for Chris, if something like a career with NOAA is still on his radar after graduation. The major said he would also like to work with the crew of the Thomas Jefferson to arrange future tours of the boat for younger cadets, because "it's good for a 10th-grader to be thinking, 'Hey, this is something I want,'ââ" he said.
eschultz@timesreview.com
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1 comments found
NJROTC : 10/30/2008
Nice story on the local NJROTC -- we have a MHS 10th grade grandson who has been having a great time in the NJROTC -- working harder on his math and science -- Major Bill Grigonis is doing a very good job encouraging these guys.
