Participant Interview:
ENS Cathy Martin
NOAA Corps Junior Officer

Cathy is a Junior Officer with the NOAA fleet. She was nice enough to sit down with us for a few minutes and answer some of our questions. Cathy has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management and a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, both from Florida Institute of Technology. In order to join the officers program for NOAA, an individual must have a bachelor's degree in science, math or engineering. She joined NOAA in April of 2000 after interning with the National Weather Service. Cathy is part of the NOAA training program. She spent 3 months at the Merchant Marine Academy and will spend two years at sea training under the Captains of various NOAA vessels. After her training at sea, Cathy hopes to become a pilot for NOAA, chasing hurricanes.

Cathy's daily schedule varies from trip to trip. On Leg 3 of the VENTS program, Cathy stands watch on the bridge from 12:00 until 4:00, twice a day. While on watch she is responsible for maneuvering the vessel, maintaining weather logs, monitoring radar for other vessels and coordinating the deployment and recovery of scientific equipment. During her eight hours between watches, Cathy has several other jobs she must complete, including public relations and assistant navigator. She also tries to catch a movie, talk with friends and family via email and get some sleep.

When not at sea, Cathy likes to spend time with her fellow officers, visits friends back home in Massachusetts and just sit down at a nice restaurant for a good dinner.

Cathy at the controls on the bridge.