DAHLGREN, Va. –
When Brody Kester landed a selective spot in the 2025 Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), he thought he’d spend the summer behind a desk. But he soon found himself working side by side with Dahlgren scientists and engineers and gaining hands-on experience in real-world naval research.
Lasting eight weeks each summer, SEAP, a Department of the Navy program, gives high school students and recent graduates interested in science and engineering exposure to practical laboratory research. Twelve interns worked in teams of four to design, develop and program unmanned systems. Their work culminated in a demonstration at the aptly-named Hideaway Pond, tucked down a path behind a stand of trees.
“I’ve been really thrilled” with the experience, said Kester, who plans to study computer science and cyber security at the University of Virginia this fall. Behind him, a foldable kayak and a Blue Boat – both adapted into remotely operated platforms – drifted near the shore.
“This is what an internship looks like at the high school level,” said STEM Director Tyler Truslow. “As an intern at NSWC Dahlgren Division, these are the types of things you get to do.”
The first step: Building effective habits
Before the interns began work on their unmanned vehicles, Matt Hassan, a program mentor and a mechanical engineer for the Expeditionary Warfare, System Design and Integration branch, wanted to set the tone for teamwork and leadership.
“We spent a week working on the seven habits of highly effective people,” Hassan said, referring to the personal development framework from Stephen Covey’s bestselling book by the same name.
Take initiative. Know where you’re going before you start. Prioritize what matters most. Seek solutions that benefit everyone. Listen before trying to be heard. Combine strengths. Take care of yourself.
“We talked about applying those habits to their mission at hand. But those foundational principles are not Navy-specific. They work anywhere,” Hassan said.
He gave them another piece of advice: Whatever they put into the program was what they’d get out of it. “With all the obstacles they ran into and then either overcame or changed course, they got out a ton.”
His group’s task: A remote control boat that could drive its own loop with the press of a button. It needed to be low-cost, use mostly commercial off-the-shelf components and fit into a backpack. The goal: a low-cost, unmanned system that could be replicated easily and quickly.
“There were times they didn’t know how to solve a problem, but they kept working on it anyway,” Hassan said. “If they ran into something where what they were doing wasn’t working, they were willing to go ask for help, which is the hardest thing to get any engineer to do.”
Failure fuels progress
Half an hour before the interns began their presentations and demos at Hideaway Pond, Hassan’s group tested their foldable kayak-turned unmanned surface vessel (USV). The air was still, the temperature already in the 90s. Soon, Dahlgren leadership would gather in the shade of canopy tents to watch and listen.
Their USV worked.
After the students talked about their project – the obstacles they’d faced and overcome, what they’d learned and the lessons they would take away – it was Hassan’s turn to speak. The projects they’d undertaken over the last two months were as difficult as any he faced in his role as a mechanical engineer at Dahlgren.
“Murphy’s Law was a constant companion,” he said. Still, “they sat down every day with each other, and if they ran into something they couldn’t control, they asked for help. If they ran into something they could control, they worked their butts off.”
It was time for the demonstration. Although the vessel had worked about an hour before, now it didn’t.
If they were discouraged, they didn’t show it. While another group began their presentation, Hassan’s team set to troubleshooting.
Melissa Smith, Warfare Analysis and Digital Modeling Department head, looked on knowingly. “Don’t be defeated by that,” she told them. “It’s good to fail and learn from it.”
It was one of the many lessons they’d take with them.
“At the end of the day, it’s everyone coming together to solve a task and not getting discouraged when something goes wrong,” said Maddox Cypress, an intern from Waldorf, Maryland, who plans to study aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan on a full scholarship this fall. “It’s putting trust not only in yourself but your team, staying consistent and never giving up.”