Graduating from the Paul Hall Center’s comprehensive unlicensed apprentice program is a laudable achievement under any circumstance, but for Eileen Lammers, the accomplishment is extra special.
Lammers, 19, completed the third and final phase of the curriculum in February. She is believed to be the first Alaskan Indian female to graduate from the program in Piney Point, Md.
“I take a lot of pride in this,” stated Lammers, a member of Class 630. “I am very into my culture, and to be the first is a very big honor and also shows the next generation that anything is possible. Not many Alaskan Indian females do what I’m doing right now.”
Lammers enrolled at Piney Point in May 2002, after learning about it through the non-profit recruiting and referral agency SEA Link Inc., based in Ketchikan, Alaska. Initially, she didn’t realize that no other Alaskan Indian female had gone through the trainee program. “But it’s a very big deal for my tribe and all the Indians in Alaska,” Lammers said. Her tribe, Haida and Nishga, lives mainly in southeast Alaska.
The program itself—including an initial 12 weeks at the Paul Hall Center covering the basics, a 90-day apprenticeship aboard an SIU-contracted ship, and more advanced training back at the school—proved challenging but worthwhile. “The first phase was hard, getting used to the different cultures, but it was a good learning experience,” said Lammers, who plans to sail in the steward department. “The second phase was really cool. I was on Alaska Tanker Company’s BT Alaska. I like the on-the-job training, seeing what every department was like.
“The crew was very good,” she continued. “They treated me like a crew member, not a trainee.”
Lammers concluded that she enthusiastically would advise other Alaskans to consider enrolling in the unlicensed apprentice program. “I would recommend it. Everyone needs to learn responsibilities, have stability,” she observed. “It’s a good opportunity for people my age to expand their horizons and figure out what they want in life.”
She added a word of praise for the instructors and staff at the Paul Hall Center, which opened in 1967. “People at school want to help. It’s tough love, but they really want us to succeed
. I also was surprised by how much there is to learn. I started college when I was 17, was going into accounting but didn’t like it, and figured this (Piney Point) would be a way to figure out what I want. I noticed a big difference right away. In college you’re in the books all the time. Here, if you need help, they take time out and show you how things are done. I see that with a lot of students here, including academics. In college, you’re on your own. Here, it’s more of a family organization. We help each other.”
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