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48MTRMay 2012turned it into a teacher training program. They provided the education of the teachers and a list of parts for the teachers to then go out and take to their classrooms. I saw a couple of teachers speak at a meeting I attended. They were just so passionate about SeaPerch and for some rea- son, I guess as a marketing person, and with the full sup- port of ONR, I just was able to take it to the next step.? Susan explained that she was ardent after hearing the teachers speak about SeaPerch being a great equalizer. They had students who weren?t the most popular kids, but, when they got the pliers and soldering irons in their hands, they were stars of the show. After the meeting, Susan approached Kelly Cooper, the Program Officer at ONR responsible for funding the SeaPerch Program. Susan introduced herself and told Kelly that she would like to build this idea and curriculum into a program that she believed would go national in five years. Upon Kelly?s approval, Susan created a small manu- facturing operation, complete with inventory, staffed by her and other committed volunteers, and assembled all the materials needed into kits for distribution. Today the assembly of kits is outsourced to a contractor due to the rapid expansion of the program. ?I didn?t have to create the wheel. The concept already existed and I give all the credit in the world to MIT for developing the curriculum and to, of course, Vickie and Harry for creating the vehicle.? A New Partnership The idea of training 10,000 Sea Cadets in how to build an underwater robot came about sometime during the summer of 2011. Randy Hollstein, National Chairman, US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, realized that the Sea Cadets needed to tap into ONR?s STEM programs. This resulted in a visit from ONR?s Dr. Michael Kassner, Director, Office of Research (Discovery & Invention) and Carolyn Van Damme. It was during that visit that the subject of SeaPerch came up, as well as other ONR STEM opportunities for youth. ?One of the most critical things was making sure that whatever they do, they also endeared the youth towards the Navy. These kids are already wearing Navy uniforms and they are already in them for practical purposes. We know their grandpas, aunts and uncles are already waving the flag. So we felt as though we?d be a perfect fit,? said Captain Nyland. ?After a couple of phones calls, I found out that Susan Nelson was in charge of the SeaPerch Program as Executive Director. So we started working with Susan.? ?We are honored to have the opportunity to partner with the Navy League and the Sea Cadets,? said Nelson. ?We?re on the verge of signing a national partnership MTR#4 (34-49):MTR Layouts 4/27/2012 9:48 AM Page 48