Because Preserving Maritime History Requires Investing in the Future
By Nathaniel Howe, Director at Puget Sound Maritime
Article adapted from the Summer 2024 issue of The Sea Chest, the maritime history journal of Puget Sound Maritime. Learn more at www.pugetmaritime.org
Do you know a high school student pursuing a maritime career? There may be scholarship funds available for them. Early spring is application season for The Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society’s (PSM) scholarship program. Each year, PSM’s Youth Maritime Training Association (YMTA) program offers scholarships to Washington youth pursuing post-secondary education that will propel the future of this region’s maritime legacy.
Last year, PSM’s YMTA program awarded $27,000 in scholarships to seven talented high school seniors. Their aspirations ranged from deep-sea navigation and river pilotage to naval architecture and marine biology. We at the Puget Sound Maritime YMTA program are proud to help these enthusiastic youth on their way to their maritime careers!
The Youth Maritime Training Association was formed in 1996 by representatives of maritime employers and labor organizations, focusing on expanding youth awareness of the opportunities available in the maritime field, and facilitating access to training and education opportunities. The YMTA operated as an independent non-profit for nearly twenty years, growing steadily under the leadership of numerous instrumental figures, not the least, Norm Manly and Gary Stauffer.
In 2014, YMTA transferred its flag to the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society for ongoing management of the scholarship program and school career fair outreach. The PSMHS was founded in 1948 to preserve and promote the maritime heritage of the Northwest and has shared facilities with Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry since 1952. Over the last 75 years, PSMHS has been the region’s primary maritime history organization, collecting hundreds of thousands of photos, documents, and artifacts and chronicling Northwest and Alaskan maritime history through its journal, The Sea Chest (printing since 1967). The merger with YMTA led the PSMHS to shorten its operating title to ‘Puget Sound Maritime’ to better reflect the expansion of its mission from strictly historical work to also encompass its newfound dedication to the present and future of maritime activity in this region.
Each year, PSM raises scholarship funds from maritime industry leaders, fosters awareness of both the program and the broader opportunities in the maritime sector by attending dozens of career fairs all over Washington State—earning a special salute for PSM’s tireless ambassadors, Roger Ottenbach and Ken Passé—organizes the application and judging process, and awards the scholarships at a ceremony each May.
PSM would like to extend our profound gratitude to our judges from the maritime community, our ceremony hostess, Julie Keim, at Compass Courses, YMTA program chair Roger Ottenbach, and especially our outstanding scholarship sponsors. The 2024 roster include the Council of American Master Mariners, Elliott Bay Design Group, Puget Sound Pilots, Compass Courses Maritime Training, Western Towboat Company, John Goodfellow, Fremont Boat Company, Foss Maritime, Fremont Dock Co., and the Captain Peter Chelemedos Memorial Fund.
If you, or someone you know, will be a graduating senior heading off to pursue a maritime sector education, consider applying for a scholarship! Applicants must be from Washington State and seeking a degree from an accredited maritime-focused program. And if your business would like to sponsor a scholarship, please reach out to us.
2024 Scholarship Recipients:
- Izabella Neal of Castle Rock received a $3,000 scholarship funded by Elliott Bay Design Group and Fremont Dock Company. She is attending the Oregon Institute of Technology, in Klamath Falls, to pursue a degree in marine biology and hopes to eventually become an aquatic veterinarian.
- Mitchell Payne of Friday Harbor received a $3,000 scholarship funded by Compass Courses to pursue a degree in naval architecture at The Landing School in Arundel, Maine.
- Cali Pretti of Oak Harbor received a $4,000 scholarship funded by Western Towboat Company and the John Goodfellow Fund to attend San Diego State University in pursuit of a degree in marine biology.
- Kira Korten of Everett, graduating from the Running Start program at Everett’s Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA), received a $5,000 scholarship funded by Foss Maritime and Fremont Boat Company to pursue a degree in oceanography at Oregon State University.
- Grady Lieziert of Washougal was awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the John Goodfellow Fund to attend the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Michigan, with an ultimate goal of becoming a Columbia River pilot.
- Tyler Allan of Bonney Lake won the $6,000 scholarship funded by the Council of American Master Mariners and Puget Sound Pilots to attend the California State University Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime) to pursue his credentials to eventually become a captain, ideally with Foss or Washington State Ferries.
- Each year, the judges also award an additional $1,000 from the Captain Peter Chelemedos Memorial Fund, designated for a student pursuing a shipboard career. The 2024 winner was Grady Lieziert.
Congratulations to all our 2024 awardees, and thank you to the scholarship sponsors, judges, Julie Keim, and especially our own Roger Ottenbach. We look forward to seeing where the awardees go in the future and to meeting the 2025 applicants steering toward their maritime careers.
To learn more about the scholarship program, visit www.ymta.net, or to learn more about Puget Sound Maritime’s journal (printing since 1967) and extensive photo and records archives, visit www.pugetmaritime.org.