Western Pacific Maritime Academy trains its first cohort of Tinian and Rota students at Aqua Resort Club.
Capt. Michael Bacher, center, instructs students regarding proper donning of life jackets.
THE Western Pacific Maritime Academy trained its first cohort of Rota and Tinian high school students at Aqua Resort Club on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
There were eight students each from Dr. Rita Hocog-Inos High School and Tinian High School.
When the media attended the training exercise, the students were undergoing the practical assessment portion of a personal survival techniques course.
According to a media release, students were being tested on the following abilities: remaining afloat for one minute while fully clothed; properly donning a life jacket; wearing a personal flotation device or PFD and jumping into water from a height of one meter; swimming at least 20 feet with a PFD; properly donning an immersion suit in two minutes; jumping into the water from a height of at least one meter while wearing an immersion suit; righting an inverted life raft while wearing an immersion suit; standing from a height of one meter and then boarding a covered life raft while wearing an immersion suit; boarding a covered life raft while in the water and using an immersion suit; and proper unpacking and deployment of a sea anchor.
Michael W. Bacher, executive director of WPMA, said the academy also conducted certain classes on Rota and Tinian, namely, the Vessel Personnel with Designated Security Duties course, and the basic training Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities course.
However, he said, firefighting, first aid and CPR, and survival skills courses must be conducted on Saipan because the facilities for them are located on this island, Bacher said.
Deviyani Jane Pandey, an 11th grader from Tinian, said she wants to be a merchant mariner “to get experience at sea as well as benefits.”
When she graduates from high school, Pandey said she sees herself working in international waters.
“I’ve always loved the ocean,” she said. Asked what draws her to pursuing a marine trade, she replied: “I just like the adventure of it.”
Noah Cepeda, Pandey’s schoolmate at Tinian High School, said he was eager for new experiences.
“I’m here to learn new things I’ve never learned before,” Cepeda added.
He said he wants to go to college after high school, but he’s also looking for a course of study that supports his aspirations to enter the marine trades.
He wants to have a job that keeps him active.
“I need an active job — I’m not going to sit on my butt doing paperwork. That’s not me,” Cepeda said, adding that he sees himself working on the open ocean.
Zander Atalig, a sophomore from Rota, said he was there to “test the waters” of the marine trades.
“What brings me here is to learn something that I’ve never learned. This is something new for me. I wanted to try it out to see if I want to go for it for my career if I want,” Atalig said.
He said he is an avid fisherman who uses spear and rod and reel. He also forages for crabs and shellfish on cliff lines.
Freya Greathouse, for her part, is a senior who eventually wants to be a nurse. She was at the training for the experience. “I put myself in this position to experience how the training is and then bring it back to [school] and tell [my classmates] all about it,” Greathouse said, adding that she is a member of her school’s student council.
“When I first heard about [the maritime academy] I thought this was a really good opportunity, especially for the people in Luta. I know a lot of people that are interested in this field. I know a lot of people that love the water,” she said.
Students from Rota and Tinian don their immersion suits.
The trainees must tread water for one minute while fully clothed.
