Internship at the United States Coast Guard Academy

By Wyatt Sebourn | AUP Unit California Maritime

As discussed in the previous interview with Mr. Marx, AUP students are eligible to apply for an internship with the USCG. Mr. Christopher Us is another AUP student who worked hard and contributed to the program. In the case of Mr. Us, from AUP Virginia Tech (Flotilla 7-7 out of Fairfield, Connecticut), AUP is a way to serve his country as well as using it as a springboard towards Officer Candidacy School. 

Mr. Us is open to many career paths in addition to active duty Coast Guard service. If he doesn’t enter OCS, he will continue his passion for public affairs. “I have always been interested in writing, and the news, and I wanted to get an inside look at the details behind how stories were released to the press.” He has plans to also pursue PA positions with his flotilla as well as in AUP.

Mr. Us was at the USCG Academy for his internship. During the internship, he wrote for the R-Day, the Coast Guard Academy’s blog. He learned from great professionals and enjoyed his experiences. While writing for the R-Day blog, Mr. Us interviewed cadets, recorded speeches from RADM Rendon as well as other academy faculty. He also worked with a new publishing method the PA office began deploying called Adobe Spark. Mr. Us used Adobe Spark to publish three Cadet Life blog entries. At a Swearing-In ceremony livestream, Mr. Us operated cameras and accommodated suggestions on improvement from live commenters. Conclusively, Mr. Us conducted a photo shoot for the Academy’s Respect and Inclusion Summer Experience (RISE). This program is designed to help ease transition into cadet life for students of diverse backgrounds.

Throughout his time interning with the USCG Academy, Mr. Us faced challenges and worked towards his goals. “There were many rewarding aspects about my internship. One of them was seeing the results of my work, and how many people it was published to. But the most rewarding aspect was being part of a Coast Guard team and making an imprint in the service.” Though with every job comes a downside; for Mr. Us, the most difficult part of his internship was having to work with deadlines. The stories had to be written quickly, each deadline would creep up if the story wasn’t promptly written.    

For anyone looking to join or has recently joined AUP or the Auxiliary, Mr. Us gave some advice for success. AUP and the Auxiliary are incredibly amazing, but you will only get out what you put in. Take it seriously, and your efforts will greatly benefit you.