1 00:00:00,620 --> 00:00:03,787 (inspirational music) 2 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:06,870 - [Narrator] The Coast Guard strives to be a diverse 3 00:00:06,870 --> 00:00:08,440 and inclusive branch when it comes 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:10,520 to our workforce and our leaders. 5 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,220 Our Office of Diversity and Inclusion oversees 6 00:00:13,220 --> 00:00:16,640 the Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program. 7 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:18,070 This program aims to work 8 00:00:18,070 --> 00:00:20,604 with federally recognized Title IV colleges 9 00:00:20,604 --> 00:00:22,940 and universities that are eligible 10 00:00:22,940 --> 00:00:25,190 for federal funding under Title III 11 00:00:25,190 --> 00:00:28,720 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 12 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:31,080 to recruit individuals into our service 13 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,073 to better reflect the nation we serve. 14 00:00:34,030 --> 00:00:35,580 - And I'm Rear Admiral Keith Smith, 15 00:00:35,580 --> 00:00:37,410 I'm the Fifth Coast Guard District Commander, 16 00:00:37,410 --> 00:00:39,120 but I'm also the executive champion 17 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,480 for Elizabeth City State University. 18 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,090 In that capacity, I lead our efforts 19 00:00:43,090 --> 00:00:44,280 for the relationship 20 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,179 with historically black college and university. 21 00:00:46,179 --> 00:00:49,943 And I've been in that role since 2018 when I took over. 22 00:00:51,170 --> 00:00:52,050 Our relationship 23 00:00:52,050 --> 00:00:53,582 with Elizabeth City State University 24 00:00:53,582 --> 00:00:55,200 and the Coast Guard in the Fifth Coast Guard District 25 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,380 goes back almost 10 years. 26 00:00:56,380 --> 00:00:57,730 And people don't realize that we've had 27 00:00:57,730 --> 00:00:59,420 that relationship for that long. 28 00:00:59,420 --> 00:01:00,860 And I take great pride in that. 29 00:01:00,860 --> 00:01:02,640 We've had two memorandums of understanding 30 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:04,590 with the Elizabeth City State University. 31 00:01:04,590 --> 00:01:06,990 The first one was in 2016, 32 00:01:06,990 --> 00:01:08,350 Admiral Austin actually signed that. 33 00:01:08,350 --> 00:01:10,560 And then in 2019 I outfitted that. 34 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,120 So this is a relationship that isn't new, 35 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:13,922 it's been going on for quite some time. 36 00:01:13,922 --> 00:01:15,487 And I think it's feeling stronger? 37 00:01:15,487 --> 00:01:18,180 Actually, I know it's feeling stronger with each year. 38 00:01:18,180 --> 00:01:19,810 - I think the relationship that we have 39 00:01:19,810 --> 00:01:21,820 with the Coast Guard is a strong one. 40 00:01:21,820 --> 00:01:24,560 And from the very start we wanted this relationship 41 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,030 to be intentional, which means, you know, 42 00:01:27,030 --> 00:01:31,600 we wanted ECSU to really focus on our agreement 43 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:33,460 with the Coast Guard on how we would help 44 00:01:33,460 --> 00:01:35,824 to build a pipeline of students 45 00:01:35,824 --> 00:01:38,690 who are interested in serving in the Coast Guard. 46 00:01:38,690 --> 00:01:41,138 So we've been very successful in doing that 47 00:01:41,138 --> 00:01:42,890 and being intentional about it 48 00:01:42,890 --> 00:01:44,659 by just bringing in our students, 49 00:01:44,659 --> 00:01:46,939 to expose them to the Coast Guard, 50 00:01:46,939 --> 00:01:49,355 expose them to the CSPI program. 51 00:01:49,355 --> 00:01:50,866 And so, in doing that, 52 00:01:50,866 --> 00:01:53,391 our students get a wealth of information. 53 00:01:53,391 --> 00:01:56,110 They look at opportunities that, you know, 54 00:01:56,110 --> 00:01:58,620 as they think about what happens after graduation. 55 00:01:58,620 --> 00:02:00,170 So that's been really great for us, 56 00:02:00,170 --> 00:02:02,700 because they see the partnership with the Coast Guard 57 00:02:02,700 --> 00:02:04,933 and how important that is to the university. 58 00:02:06,177 --> 00:02:07,290 - One of the students who graduated 59 00:02:07,290 --> 00:02:09,599 from there was Warren Judge, who was commander, 60 00:02:09,599 --> 00:02:12,310 he recently got promoted to captain. 61 00:02:12,310 --> 00:02:13,143 And when you think about that, 62 00:02:13,143 --> 00:02:15,520 that one of the students from there is now a captain 63 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:16,520 in the United States Coast Guard 64 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,530 that is a Elizabeth City State graduate. 65 00:02:19,530 --> 00:02:21,240 - I'm Commander, Warren Judge, 66 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,900 and United States Coast Guard. 67 00:02:22,900 --> 00:02:24,640 Currently the executive officer 68 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:28,173 at the Command Control Communications Engineering Center. 69 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,640 Well, my relationship with ECSU goes back 70 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:36,800 to 1993 when I was enlisted down 71 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,270 at Elizabeth City Air Station, 72 00:02:39,270 --> 00:02:40,610 and I wanted to go to college. 73 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:43,410 And I knew I wanted to try to break grounds 74 00:02:43,410 --> 00:02:44,740 to get into the officer school. 75 00:02:44,740 --> 00:02:46,984 So I was going to school on my own 76 00:02:46,984 --> 00:02:50,390 at the Elizabeth City State University. 77 00:02:50,390 --> 00:02:53,490 And then I applied for the PPEP program, 78 00:02:53,490 --> 00:02:55,600 the pre-command commissioning program 79 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:57,081 for enlisted personnel. 80 00:02:57,081 --> 00:02:58,570 And I applied twice. 81 00:02:58,570 --> 00:03:01,110 I got picked up, and they told me I can go 82 00:03:01,110 --> 00:03:02,760 to the college of my choice. 83 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,780 And so since I was at ECSU, 84 00:03:04,780 --> 00:03:07,890 I went to school over at ECSU 85 00:03:07,890 --> 00:03:12,613 and I received a degree in Computer Programming in 1997. 86 00:03:13,730 --> 00:03:15,010 - Hi, my name is Colin Gilley, 87 00:03:15,010 --> 00:03:17,410 and I am attending Elizabeth City State University 88 00:03:17,410 --> 00:03:19,570 as part of the CSPI program. 89 00:03:19,570 --> 00:03:22,450 I chose ECSU for a number of reasons. 90 00:03:22,450 --> 00:03:25,000 Part of it was the fact that it is part 91 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,960 of the CSPI program, 92 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,290 but also for its location and proximity 93 00:03:30,290 --> 00:03:31,900 to the Coast Guard Air Station, 94 00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:33,680 which gives me lots of opportunities 95 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,110 to partner with the pilots. 96 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:37,850 - At Elizabeth City State University 97 00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:39,470 they have an aviation program. 98 00:03:39,470 --> 00:03:40,570 And just by coincidence, 99 00:03:40,570 --> 00:03:41,920 we have one of the largest air stations 100 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,040 right down, not just in the same city as Elizabeth City. 101 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,020 And the Air Station works very closely 102 00:03:47,020 --> 00:03:47,853 with the students 103 00:03:47,853 --> 00:03:49,840 and with the university to bring them down. 104 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:51,660 We've done a lot of activities with that. 105 00:03:51,660 --> 00:03:54,260 We also have a large population within the Coast Guard, 106 00:03:54,260 --> 00:03:56,717 people or students, who are not interested in aviation, 107 00:03:56,717 --> 00:03:58,730 to bring them in touch with a few 108 00:03:58,730 --> 00:04:00,690 of those types of activities as well, 109 00:04:00,690 --> 00:04:01,940 which I think is very beneficial. 110 00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:03,960 So not only do they get to learn about the Coast Guard, 111 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:05,159 understand about the Coast Guard, 112 00:04:05,159 --> 00:04:08,380 but sometimes we can actually bring those members 113 00:04:08,380 --> 00:04:10,360 from the Coast Guard to talk about those activities, 114 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:11,770 to get them excited about it. 115 00:04:11,770 --> 00:04:16,770 - At ECSU, we have the only four year degree program 116 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:20,170 in Aviation Science in the entire state. 117 00:04:20,170 --> 00:04:21,290 And so it makes sense 118 00:04:21,290 --> 00:04:23,510 with the Coast Guard base being right up the street, 119 00:04:23,510 --> 00:04:26,210 and their focus on aviation here at this particular base, 120 00:04:26,210 --> 00:04:29,059 and then our focus on aviation, for us to partner. 121 00:04:29,059 --> 00:04:32,650 And in doing so, our students have visited the base. 122 00:04:32,650 --> 00:04:35,865 They've seen things that have happened in regards to 123 00:04:35,865 --> 00:04:39,350 aviation and unmanned aircraft systems. 124 00:04:39,350 --> 00:04:41,870 And it just brings to light what it looks like 125 00:04:41,870 --> 00:04:43,440 to be able to utilize the skills 126 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,380 that we're teaching in the real world, 127 00:04:45,380 --> 00:04:47,600 and more importantly, with the Coast Guard. 128 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,040 The Coast Guard landed a Halo on our campus, 129 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:51,736 and it just brought so much excitement 130 00:04:51,736 --> 00:04:55,653 and energy around this partnership and how important it is. 131 00:04:57,470 --> 00:04:59,347 - One of the ways ECSU 132 00:04:59,347 --> 00:05:01,340 and the Coast Guard also partnership 133 00:05:01,340 --> 00:05:03,951 is building the diversity and inclusion 134 00:05:03,951 --> 00:05:05,713 throughout the Coast Guard. 135 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:07,473 Right now, 136 00:05:07,473 --> 00:05:11,222 with ECSU being a historical black college and university, 137 00:05:11,222 --> 00:05:13,126 a lot of the minority students 138 00:05:13,126 --> 00:05:14,951 they're applying for the program. 139 00:05:14,951 --> 00:05:17,418 And it also gives us an opportunity 140 00:05:17,418 --> 00:05:20,120 to build the officer's program. 141 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,975 So with each successful graduate student, 142 00:05:22,975 --> 00:05:26,230 we are able to build an officer, 143 00:05:26,230 --> 00:05:29,513 a minority officer, and bring them up through the pipeline. 144 00:05:31,700 --> 00:05:33,440 - So we were honored to be able 145 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,460 to host the Coast Guard on our campus 146 00:05:35,460 --> 00:05:37,490 for the HBCU summit this year. 147 00:05:37,490 --> 00:05:38,760 This was something that I wanted 148 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:40,230 to see happen on this campus. 149 00:05:40,230 --> 00:05:43,940 It made sense with our neighboring, you know, 150 00:05:43,940 --> 00:05:45,450 U.S Coast Guard base right 151 00:05:45,450 --> 00:05:47,240 down the street from the university. 152 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,900 And we were very excited to host the summit 153 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:51,330 and it drew a lot of people. 154 00:05:51,330 --> 00:05:53,450 It drew a lot of Coast Guard members. 155 00:05:53,450 --> 00:05:57,400 It drew our CSPI students from the past and present, 156 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,090 coming together and really celebrating the initiative 157 00:06:01,090 --> 00:06:02,580 that the Coast Guard has in place 158 00:06:02,580 --> 00:06:03,870 to diversify the pipeline 159 00:06:03,870 --> 00:06:06,880 of those who are exposed to the Coast Guard. 160 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:08,980 And then later, enlist in the Coast Guard. 161 00:06:11,220 --> 00:06:14,690 - My experiences over at ECSU, while I was in school, 162 00:06:14,690 --> 00:06:16,430 was all positive. 163 00:06:16,430 --> 00:06:17,936 Now, when I tell you positive, 164 00:06:17,936 --> 00:06:22,936 I'm talking from understanding the backgrounds 165 00:06:23,150 --> 00:06:25,628 to getting into the university 166 00:06:25,628 --> 00:06:29,650 and then getting to the university and having mentors. 167 00:06:29,650 --> 00:06:32,010 I gained mentors quickly. 168 00:06:32,010 --> 00:06:32,843 For example, 169 00:06:32,843 --> 00:06:35,960 one of the mentors was Captain retired Bill Barker, 170 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,830 who was a prior CO over at the air station. 171 00:06:38,830 --> 00:06:40,660 He called me to the side one day, 172 00:06:40,660 --> 00:06:43,187 and pretty much just reeled me in saying like, 173 00:06:43,187 --> 00:06:44,907 "Look like you're having a lot of fun. 174 00:06:44,907 --> 00:06:46,617 "Don't forget you still got studies 175 00:06:46,617 --> 00:06:47,450 "And don't forget, 176 00:06:47,450 --> 00:06:50,038 "you're still representing the Coast Guard." 177 00:06:50,038 --> 00:06:54,127 And that type of mentoring is what students need, 178 00:06:54,127 --> 00:06:58,102 to be professional, and really, to be successful. 179 00:06:58,102 --> 00:07:01,269 (inspirational music)