NSWC Philadelphia Awards Top Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) Interns

PHILADELPHIA (NNS) -- The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) hosted its annual Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) Intern competition Aug. 16, and selected the top three winning presentations.

As part of the competition, the high school-level interns formally presented their projects to NSWCPD science and engineering professionals. This event ended their eight-week SEAP internship. During the SEAP program, students met with mentors, performed hands-on research, and completed assignments designed to nurture their pursuit of science and engineering careers.

SEAP's goals are threefold: to inspire students to pursue science and engineering careers; to further their education under mentors by laboratory professionals and their hands-on research; and finally, to make them aware of Department of the Navy research and technology missions, which can lead to employment within the Navy. Similar to the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP) for college students, SEAP gives students an opportunity to perform mentored research and projects in a real-world environment. NSWCPD hosted 20 students that an independent panel competitively selected. This year, the Navy hosted more than 290 students in SEAP at 25 Department of Navy laboratories across the country.

The first place award went to a tag team of Justin Chang, a rising senior at Milton High School in Milton, Georgia, and Andre Thomas, a rising senior from Philadelphia at the Beeber campus of the Science Leadership Academy. Chang and Thomas delivered a dynamic presentation on the "Vessel Monitoring System Testing and Training Application" that they developed during their tenure.

"We learned a lot doing the project," said Chang. "I'd never done something like that before. It was challenging, but it took about two weeks to get our first working copy."

"I thought it went very well," said Thomas, who looks forward to a career in computer science and art, so he will be able to do both the software coding, and the design for his own creations. "We were putting in place holder images and place holder questions, just to make sure the code was running. So once we got the user interface working, from there we were basically inputting final images."

In four weeks' time, the duo said they had their winning project running to specifications and they'd learned to navigate a necessary part of their field: working as a team.

For his college choices, Thomas expressed interest in studying at Temple University, Penn State, or Roanoke University in Virginia.

"I feel much the same in what I want to pursue," said Chang, whose future goals are similar to his project partner in terms of coding and design. "And for schools I think my tops would be Carnegie Mellon or Stanford, and Georgia Tech. And I think we both plan on applying to a program like this next summer."

Second place winner, Ava Rostami, won for her presentation on "Securing Mission Critical Navy Networks." A graduate of Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, she will begin her freshman year at Cornell University to study Chemical Engineering this Fall.

Christina Santana, a rising junior with the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, won third place for her final presentation on "Cargo/Weapons Elevator Electromagnetic Enclosure Alterations."

Santana spent her internship working with the Cargo Weapons Handling and Stowage Systems Branch, but is no stranger to the Navy Yard. Santana has wanted to work there since she visited as a little girl. She spent approximately five weeks piecing her project together, with the final weeks dedicated to revision and critiques.

Mr. Michael Kistler, the Senior Executive and NSWCPD's Technical Director said of SEAP and its participants, "The most important things I value about this program is that each student gains a passion for the work we do, and the results they achieve."

For Stephanie Davidson, a project manager with NSWCPD's Talent Management Team, this competition represents eight weeks of unwavering confidence in the students' capabilities, as well as their ability to impress their mentors, judges and the spectators who came to show their support during the presentation.

"Our SEAPs made it look easy and impressed everyone with clearly communicating, connecting with the audience and letting their personalities shine at all the right moments."

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division provides the Navy's primary technical expertise for naval machinery research and development and in-service engineering, as well as machinery cybersecurity and lifecycle engineering.