My
connection with Alyeska started when I was a cadet attending
Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I was volunteering at the spill
training simulator, and Alyeska was sending personnel to attend
oil spill training there. I introduced myself to the Alyeska
folks and pitched the idea of an internship. We had to do an
internship as part of our degree requirements, and they approved
of it. Since then, there have been a number of cadets who
attended as interns. I came up in 1995 for the internship and
returned to school. While we were on a training trip off the
coast of Morocco, we got a telegram: Alyeska wanted my resume
after I graduated. It was a pleasant surprise, and I started
here in 1997.
When I first started right from school, I lived onboard the
escort vessels. I literally got my feet wet living on the tugs
and the escort vessels. There is nothing better than messing
around on boats. I grew up in the water. I had rowboats, and a
sailboat. I fished commercially down in Bristol Bay for a few
years. I just loved it. With the things we do over there at
SERVS, it’s just a lot of fun. I was reorganized over to
headquarters and I am very happy to be here. I work for the oil
movements department now. I have a staff position and I support
our department in carrying out the day-to-day activities. To be
part of the company that operates and maintains the pipeline is
tremendous.
I’ve never worked in an organization that had so many people
with such a tremendous depth of knowledge. I’m participating
with a bunch of really extraordinary people. I think the only
skill set the current generation has over the previous is in the
field of information technology. However, I don’t know if it
makes us any better. I think the folks who built the pipeline
and got the oil flowing understood the business better. They
weren’t handicapped by technology. In order to figure out the
hydraulics of the pipeline back then, you had to sit down and do
the calculations. You had to comprehend what the expected
outcome from your engineering effort would be. I think that’s
one of the things that I love about being part of Alyeska: I am
truly part of something bigger than myself.
Our future is inextricably linked with the Trans Alaska Pipeline
System. We’re heading into the shadows of a long decline from
the heyday of 2.1 million barrels a day. Even though we have
less than half the throughput, it does not diminish the
importance of our job. We continue to manage the business, and
our role in providing America with energy is still significant.
