Hassan Barksdale, NYCDoT Staten Island Ferry Division

During our subway ride down to the Whitehall Ferry station, Hassan explained to me the story of how he came to apply to the Harbor School and how his interest in the maritime fields began and grew throughout his four years here. It was a great opportunity for me to understand just how much of an impact a career focused maritime education can have on a teenager with no prior interest in "boats." For high school students, the process of choosing a career is not quite as easy as a regents multiple choice test. It is indeed a much more complicated process and the key to deciding is plenty of first hand experience. In other words, do something and then decide! The hands-on experience that an intern like Hassan receives while working in a large maritime operation is by no means boring or abstract. It provides an engaging and exciting means to delve into maritime occupations and begin the long path toward "deciding what you want to be when you grow up." Hassan's internship with the Staten Island Ferry is a great example of this type of well-rounded exposure to the diverse aspects of the maritime industries.

The Staten Island Ferry, as most New Yorkers know to some extent, is a vast enterprise of nine passenger and automobile ferries traveling a 5.2 mile round trip 24 hours a day, carrying over 19 million passengers annually between Whitehall in lower Manhattan and St. George on the northern shore of Staten Island. As a division of the NYC DoT, the SI Ferry is one of the few remaining vestiges of large scale, publicly funded maritime activities in the City of New York. The entire operation is one of the largest single maritime employers in the city of New York. It provides an ideal internship for Harbor School students interested in the deckhand to captain career track.

As a result of the dedication and excellent mentorship from Assistant Commissioner Keith Bray and Chief Operations Officer Jim Desimone, Hassan has been involved in nearly every aspect of the Ferry's operations throughout the course of the semester. During my visit, I was able to briefly see all aspects of Hassan's internship. First we sat down in Mr. Bray's office to discuss the internship and the big picture of the Ferry operation through a management and public relations perspective. We discussed the new safety management system which has been strongly developed in the department as a result of the most recent ferry crash, which it turns out was actually the first incident of an operations related fatality aboard any of the ferry's boats during its entire 100 plus year history. Commissioner Bray also discussed his past work experience outside the maritime field, his current managerial role, and his ideas for future development of the organization. As usual, all of this was fascinating and novel for me as an outside observer.

After the meeting, we headed out to visit the Ferry operation's storeroom and maintenance facility, a full scale shop providing every type of ship repair with the exception of hull work and drydocking. Hassan spends a portion of each day helping to complete the arduous but necessary tasks of categorizing and labeling storeroom supplies, enormous quantities of every possible mechanical and operational component needed to keep 9 ferry boats running smoothly. These are actually not storerooms but warehouses and Hassan is learning their contents, akin to an office intern filing every document in a business.

After touring the St George Ferry facilities, we boarded the Barberi and headed straight up to the Pilot's house to speak with the ship's captain, assistant captain, and various crew members who stopped in. Hassan is well known on this particular vessel as he spends a large portion of each day observing and assisting in at least one round trip voyage across the Harbor. Both captains happily explained to me how they have enjoyed sharing their knowledge and perspectives with Hassan. They acknowledged it is sometimes difficult to provide thorough explanations of technical procedures while in the midst of piloting the ship, but of course Hassan has a good sense of when and how intently he should ask questions.

We finished up the day disembarking at the Whitehall Terminal and chatting briefly with some members of the port crew. Hassan also spends a portion of some days interning with the Port crew. In this capacity, he assists passengers and helps to maintain the safety, security and orderliness of the loading and unloading process.