The Apprentice School Class of 2021 Graduation Program

The Apprentice School

Graduation Exercises for the Class of 2021

Hampton, Virginia Saturday, March 12, 2022 10 a.m.

The Apprentice School On July 1, 1919, Homer L. Ferguson,

president and general manager of Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, signed Executive Order 24, formally establishing The Apprentice School by agreeing to pay apprentices to attend academic classes geared toward the shipbuilding industry on company time.

Since its inception, more than 11,000 students have graduated as shipbuilders from The Apprentice School. The school’s timeless values of craftsmanship, scholarship and leadership are still demonstrated by all apprentices and apprentice graduates building “Good Ships” at Newport News Shipbuilding for our country’s service.

Today’s apprentices are learning new technologies that will enhance the building of ships that will forever serve future generations. Ferguson was indeed a visionary and his vision for The Apprentice School is stronger now than ever before.

Graduation Exercises Initiation of Program

Jennifer Boykin, President Newport News Shipbuilding

Processional: “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1” “The Star-Spangled Banner” Antuan Barnes, Senior Reproduction Clerk Newport News Shipbuilding

Invocation Xavier Beale, Vice President of Trades Newport News Shipbuilding

Remarks and Awards Video Presentation Jennifer Boykin

Commencement Address Karen Henneberger, Program Manager for New Ship Design Naval Reactors

Awarding of Certificates Latitia McCane, Ph.D., Director of Education The Apprentice School

For the Graduates Christopher Scott Rose Homer L. Ferguson Award Recipient

Closing Remarks Jennifer Boykin

Recessional: “Armed Forces Medley”

Graduate and Faculty Awards Niels Christiansen Craftsmanship Award

Presented to graduates who excelled in craftsmanship among waterfront trades: Phillip William Appleby Jr. Patrick Allen Bederka Darren Francis Fulton Henry Banner Robson Noah Reid Satchell

Charles F. Bailey Award

Presented to graduates who attained the highest scholastic average in required courses: Stephen Brandon Balinski Zachery James Colley Tyler Jackson Collins Steven Craig Davies Jonathan Caleb Edwards Erik Tiznado Garcia Travis James Gault Alejandra Grey Christopher Scott Hickman Sarah Michele Relph Howell Davis Willard Ivey II Ephony Tamerah King Grant Lee Melvin Timothy Daniel Mills Josiah Christopher Myer Rachel Norvell Nodurft Charles Robert Norford Thomas Ortega Cameron Todd Powell Jordan Michael Ritz Christopher Scott Rose Zachary Richard Schwenke Charlotte Jane Seibel Alexander Manaloto Soliza Jr. Sarah Melvena Taylor Alex Virgil Torralba Nathaniel Lee Whitman Michael Kent Wilson Jr.

W. R. Phillips Jr. Award

Presented to graduates from the advanced salaried programs who excelled in craftsmanship and job performance: Davis Willard Ivey II Josiah Christopher Myer Zachary Richard Schwenke

G. Guy Via Award

Presented to graduates who attained the highest scholastic average in each of the optional, advanced academic programs leading to degrees in engineering, engineering technology, technical studies and business administration: Tyler Jackson Collins Joseph Jefferies Evans III Erik Tiznado Garcia Joseph Austin Davis Goodman Sarah Faison Haynes Taylor Michelle Lufholm Josiah Christopher Myer Sarah Melvena Taylor Isaiah Kevin Washington Nathaniel Lee Whitman

James P. Healy Community Service Award

On behalf of the Mariner’s Club to the graduate who most exemplified leadership in community service: Taelor Renay Bierhuizen

Frank F. Satchell Jr. Outstanding Faculty Award

Presented to a faculty member who demonstrates the highest level of instructional quality and concern for apprentices’ success, and for overall contributions and support of the school: Gary Lee Smith II

Homer L. Ferguson Award

On behalf of the Apprentice Alumni Association to the graduate who achieved the highest average in combined, required academic and craft grades: Christopher Scott Rose

Graduates Miguel Ivan Aguilera# Electrician Dumfries, VA

Kwatayvous Jerome Blackwell# Electrician Richmond, VA

Stormy Love Coleman Rigger Lynchburg, VA

David Greggory Alexander Pipefitter Locus Hill, VA

Blake Sawyer Brasure#^* Maintenance Electrician Hampton, VA

Zachery James Colley** Marine Designer Yorktown, VA

Tyler Edward Allen Millwright Weyers Cave, VA

Kristin Marie Brensinger* Pipefitter North Branford, CT

Tyler Jackson Collins*** Marine Engineer Chesapeake, VA

Phillip William Appleby Jr.#* Electrician Reedville, VA

Ashley Latoya Brown# Coatings Specialist Ahoskie, NC

Chelsea Michelle Cotton* Production Planner Suffolk, VA

Phillip Peter Armstrong* Marine Engineer Newport News, VA

Kiana Ashley Brown# Insulator Newport News, VA

Ryan Matthew Cournoyer Electrician Hampton, VA

Rebecca Lynn Arnold!* Pipefitter Newport News, VA

Precious Ayuanna Brown Sheet Metal Worker Atlanta, GA

Ian Thomas Cowcer* Electrician Chesapeake, VA

Jeremiah Braxton Artis Shipfitter Suffolk, VA

Tatiana Isabella Burkhart* Maintenance Electrician Newport News, VA

Steven Craig Davies+#** Rigger Altamonte Springs, FL

Angelo Marquis Autry+# Outside Machinist Tampa, FL

William Austin Capps^ Pipefitter Currituck, NC

John Alexander Dawson Coatings Specialist Suffolk, VA

Tra’shawn Marquis Bacon Coatings Specialist Brunswick, GA

Chad Samuel Cashdollar# Outside Machinist Newport News, VA

William Kristopher Deach#!

Outside Machinist Gloucester, VA

Stephen Brandon Balinski* Metrology Technician Lusby, MD

Brandon Patrick Chilcote# Rigger Mount Pleasant, MI

Patrick Douglas Decker Machinist Latham, NY

Marvin Jeffrey Barnes Jr.* Marine Engineer Portsmouth, VA

Sabre Moné Clegg Insulator Portsmouth, VA

Nathaniel Tavis Dent Shipfitter Windsor, VA

Patrick Allen Bederka!* Pipefitter Gloucester, VA

Caden Tayler Clore Welder Hampton, VA

Johnathon David deTiere Outside Machinist South Hill, VA

Raven Alexis Belvin* Marine Designer Williamsburg, VA

Logan Alexander Coates#!

Outside Machinist Gloucester, VA

Kenneth Bruce Diggs* Heavy Metal Fabricator Hampton, VA

William Stanley Best Jr.!** Production Planner Chesapeake, VA

Alma Marie Cochran!* Coatings Specialist Concord, VA

Jonathan Caleb Edwards** Marine Engineer Virginia Beach, VA

Taelor Renay Bierhuizen# Maintenance Electrician Newport News, VA

Justin Lance Cole+#** Outside Machinist Fredericksburg, VA

Cameron Joseph Eldridge#* Insulator Hampton, VA

Graduates Osman Faruk Erdogan# Pipefitter Newport News, VA

Mitchell Philip Grawey^ Sheet Metal Worker Chesapeake, VA

Frederick Marques Hendrieth Shipfitter New Berlin, NY

Noah Preston Ethington# Outside Machinist Mathews, VA

Michael Glenn Green* Metrology Technician Newport News, VA

Jesse Romario Hepburn Pipefitter Norfolk, VA

Joseph Jefferies Evans III+#!** Machinist Hampton, VA

Alejandra Grey* Millwright Rochester, MN

Christopher Scott Hickman** Marine Engineer Eldersburg, MD

James Wilton Forrest# Welder Poquoson, VA

Kari Michelle Grice!* Nuclear Test Technician Morehead City, NC

Cedric Jeuvon Hines Electrician Boykins, VA

Brian Jacob Fritzinger* Supply Chain Specialist Hampton, VA

Nestor Sael Guardado Pipefitter Norfolk, VA

Sarah Michele Relph Howell** Production Planner Newport News, VA

Darren Francis Fulton#!* Outside Machinist Fayetteville, NC

Bradley John Guilford* Marine Designer Yorktown, VA

Daniel Thomas Huber* Marine Engineer Loganville, GA

Hunter Alan Fusco# Rigger Mechanicsville, VA

Christopher Michael Guimond!

Shipfitter Somerset, MA

Colton Lee Hurley#* Outside Machinist Smithfield, VA

David Anthony Gambino* Metrology Technician Newport News, VA

Phillip Edward Hall** Marine Designer Juneau, AK

Davis Willard Ivey II!* Metrology Technician Prince George, VA

Erik Tiznado Garcia!*** Modeling and Simulation Progam Analyst Lynwood ,CA

Cody Shay Hammonds#!* Electrician Hampton, VA

Coleman Lee Jackson# Rigger Poquoson, VA

Matthew Paul Gardner!** Marine Designer Newport News, VA

De’Von Darnell Hancock Sheet Metal Worker Lynchburg, VA

Kolin Charles Johnson^ Electrician King George, VA

Zachary Christopher Gardner!

Marine Designer Yorktown, VA

Carl Lorin Hardee III#* Shipfitter Suffolk, VA

Shiaira Olescia Jones!** Cost Estimator Caroline County, VA

Travis James Gault* Outside Machinist Hampton, VA

Sasha Gabriel Sanders Harris Shipfitter Front Royal, VA

Blake Lewis Jordan Sheet Metal Worker Belvidere, NC

Joseph Austin Davis Goodman** Nuclear Test Technician Walkerton, VA

Cole Leondrus Hawkins Welder Yorktown, VA

Breanna Antionette Jordan Coatings Specialist Hampton, VA

Hunter Redvers Goodrich#* Machinist Newport News, VA

Dominique Hayes#* Sheet Metal Worker Newport News, VA

Robert James Jordan Jr.* Outside Machinist Hampton, VA

William Ross Graham Pipefitter Poquoson, VA

Sarah Faison Haynes** Supply Chain Specialist Surry, VA

Sean Daniel Keefe Metrology Technician Yorktown, VA

Graduates Ephony Tamerah King* Welder New Kent, VA

Timothy Daniel Mills** Marine Engineer Williamsburg, VA

Cameron Todd Powell** Marine Engineer Yorktown, VA

Billie Kay Kloc* Production Planner Newport News, VA

Matthew Thomas Monteith!* Outside Machinist Chesapeake, VA

Deborah Leigh Quintas#* Electrician West Point, VA

Joshua Matthew Lauthers* Metrology Technician Newport News, VA

Marie Elise Murray** Production Planner Gloucester, VA

Tavon Clyde Randall# Outside Machinist Gloucester, VA

Aaron Kain Lee Welder Suffolk, VA

Josiah Christopher Myer*** Marine Engineer Lititz, PA

Alanna Helen Redmond# Outside Machinist Newport News, VA

Robert Joseph Locher Welder Newport News, VA

Rachel Norvell Nodurft** Modeling and Simulation Progam Analyst Hampton, VA

Jordan Michael Ritz*** Marine Engineer Newport News, VA

John Patrick Lombard Welder St. Paul, MN

Clayton Lee Noel III# Electrician Lynchburg, VA

Henry Banner Robson#* Sheet Metal Worker Staunton, VA

Taylor Michelle Lufholm+!** Millwright Newport News, VA

Charles Robert Norford** Marine Engineer Charlottesville, VA

Christopher Scott Rose#* Electrician Chesapeake, VA

Anthony Michael Luna* Pipefitter Newport News, VA

Timothy John O’Donnell Maintenance Pipefitter Bremerton, WA

Noah Reid Satchell#* Heavy Metal Fabricator Portsmouth, VA

Robert Lee Mayfield III Welder Newport News, VA

Andrew Criston Ollenberger#* Electrician Williamsburg, VA

Tyler James Schindel# Electrician Newport News, VA

Harrison James Maynard!* Production Planner Yorktown, VA

Thomas Ortega!** Marine Designer Chicago, IL

Vandan Wayne Schmidt^ Sheet Metal Worker Newport News, VA

Hunter Evan McCollum* Electrician Newport News, VA

Jasmine Hall Overbey* Coatings Specialist Suffolk, VA

Zachary Richard Schwenke* Nuclear Test Technician Lexington, VA

Michael Anthony Meadows!

Production Planner Hampton, VA

Matthew Shawn Page# Welder Appomattox, VA

Charlotte Jane Seibel* Welder Morris, MN

Grant Lee Melvin!* Shipfitter Virginia Beach, VA

Tommy Thai Pham Maintenance Pipefitter Norfolk, VA

Rebekah Tereska Shelby* Pipefitter Newport News, VA

John Lee Miles Jr.#* Machinist Mathews, VA

Toby Jordan Poet* Pipefitter Collegeville, PA

Austin Lee Shrewsberry!

Machinist Pearisburg, VA

Adam Taylor Miller# Welder Hampton, VA

William Thomas Pope Jr. Millwright Smithfield, VA

Nathaniel Lynnwood Shrewsberry Welder Appomattox, VA

Graduates Philip Lamar Silver# Electrician Hampton, VA

Justin Aaron True* Metrology Technician Beaverdam, VA

Alec Michael Wonders^ Pipefitter Suffolk, VA

Jacob Fredrick Smith+#* Electrician Newport News, VA

Michael Theodore-Thomas Trussell* Outside Machinist Morgantown, WV

Bryson Monroe Woody Millwright Chesterfield, VA

Ryan Paul Smith# Shipfitter Newport News, VA

Andrew Jeffery Tucker#* Welder South Kingstown, RI

Quinton Levar Wrenn Shipfitter Smithfield, VA

Alexander Manaloto Soliza Jr.** Marine Engineer Newport News, VA

Sarah Ward VanLandingham** Production Planner Hampton, VA

Rachel Lauren Wuska Heating and Air Conditioning Worker Yorktown, VA

Daniel Christopher Stanley#* Shipfitter Williamsburg, VA

Isaiah Kevin Washington+^ Pipefitter Dover, DE

Brandon Ray Wynn Shipfitter Chesapeake, VA

Tyler Allan Stewart Shipfitter Gloucester, VA

Latrice Dickson Washington Maintenance Electrician El Paso, TX

Hunter Davis Stormer* Metrology Technician Brookville, PA

Peter Anthony Watson Molder Williamsburg, VA

John Christopher Swartz* Welder Carrollton, VA

Kayla Marie Watts+* Sheet Metal Worker Hampton, VA

Rachel Kelley Talbott!

Shipfitter South Boston, VA

Sabrina Faye Werth Pipefitter Newport News, VA

Sarah Melvena Taylor*** Marine Engineer Hampton, VA

Alexis Shauntae Wethington#^ Maintenance Pipefitter Suffolk, VA

Richard Joseph Tetlak III** Outside Machinist Suffolk, VA

Crystal June White* Cost Estimator Newport News, VA

Ashley Nichelle Thompson Coatings Specialist Hampton, VA

Jordan Edward Whitlock** Nuclear Test Technician Chesterfield, VA

Taliah Neshea Tillman#* Insulator Troy, NY

Nathaniel Lee Whitman** Cost Estimator Virginia Beach, VA

Alex Virgil Torralba* Outside Machinist Newport News, VA

Michael Kent Wilson Jr.* Marine Engineer Yorktown, VA

Nolan Matthew Toti# Shipfitter Gates County, NC

Garrett James Withers#* Molder Hampton, VA

+ Advanced Shipyard Operations ^ Gold Athletic Award # Frontline FAST ! National Society of Leadership and Success * With Honors ** With High Honors *** With Highest Honors

Jennifer Boykin President, Newport News Shipbuilding Jennifer Boykin is president of Newport News Shipbuilding and executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Virginia. Named to this position in 2017, she is the 20th person and the first woman to serve as president of the Newport News shipyard, which was founded in 1886 and has approximately $4 billion in annual revenues.

As president, Boykin leads the operations of Newport News Shipbuilding, the largest industrial employer in Virginia. She has responsibility for more than 25,000 shipbuilders who design, build and maintain the world’s most complex ships: nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear-powered submarines. This includes teams that perform aircraft carrier and submarine maintenance across the United States and globally. She also has responsibility for an industrial subcontract at the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site, a research and development facility in upstate New York that supports the U.S. Navy’s nuclear propulsion program.

A native of St. Louis, Boykin earned her bachelor’s degree in marine engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and her master’s degree in engineering management from The George Washington University. Since beginning her career in the nuclear engineering division, she has held progressively responsible positions, including vice president of engineering and design, vice president of quality and process excellence, director of facilities and waterfront support, and program manager for the nuclear engineering division. She also served as a construction superintendent for the aircraft carrier program during construction of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

In the community, Boykin is committed to workforce development and is a strong advocate for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. She serves on a number of community boards, including the Board of Trustees for The Mariners’ Museum and RVA-757 Connects. In 2019, she was appointed by the president of the United States to serve on USMMA’s Board of Visitors. Boykin is a founding member of two organizations aimed at empowering girls and women; Old Dominion University’s Women’s Initiative Network and First 10 Forward, established by USMMA women graduates from the first 10 classes.

Karen O. Henneberger Program Manager for New Ship Design, Naval Reactors The daughter of a telephone operator and grocery store manager, Karen Henneberger was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. She holds a B.A. in chemistry from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

She began her career as a commissioned U.S. Naval officer.

As the senior executive for New Ship Design at Naval Reactors (NR), a joint Department of Energy and Department of Navy program, she leads three of the largest and most complex nuclear propulsion plant developments for Navy ships. Responsible for the technology development, design and construction of the nuclear propulsion plants for the Ford-class aircraft carrier, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine and the Navy’s next generation attack submarine, SSN(X), she oversees the activities of more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, shipbuilders and component vendors and an annual budget of over $3 billion. Currently, she oversees construction and testing of the nuclear propulsion plants for John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), Enterprise (CVN 80), Doris Miller (CVN 81), Columbia (SSBN 826) and Wisconsin (SSBN 827).

Henneberger entered the senior executive service in 1999 as NR’s first female senior executive and has spent nearly 30 years as a program manager in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. Prior to her current position, she served as the program manager for Future Aircraft Carrier Nuclear Propulsion, responsible for initiating efforts in support of the propulsion plant design, component manufacture, construction and testing of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the Navy’s first new design aircraft carrier in nearly 40 years. In this position, she directed efforts to deliver a first-of-a-kind nuclear propulsion plant design that provides 25% more energy and nearly three times the electrical generation and distribution capacity of legacy aircraft carriers while reducing Reactor Department crew requirements by 50% and maintenance by 30%.

She is also a plank owner for USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), responsible for construction and testing of its nuclear propulsion plants and delivery to the U.S. Navy in January 2009. The initial years of her naval career were spent in the Nuclear Technology Division of the Naval Reactors overseeing chemistry operations for the Navy fleet’s nuclear propulsion plants and as a project officer responsible for operations and maintenance of research and training reactors in Idaho and New York and the two moored training ships in South Carolina.

She and her husband, Mark, are the proud parents of three children: Danielle, Alec and Katherine. She is a member of the ForbesWomen Forum for Influential Women Leaders, co-chairperson of the DC Executive Board of Advisors for How Women Lead, a chief member, and board treasurer for Our Military Kids, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing activity grants to the children of our National Guard, Reserve and combat-injured service members. She has received a number of awards over her career including the Navy’s Distinguished and Superior Public Service medals, the Senior Executive Service Meritorious and Distinguished Presidential Rank awards, American University’s Roger W. Jones Award for Federal Executive Leadership and the 2020 Honorary Tailhooker of the Year.

Christopher Scott Rose Homer L. Ferguson Award Recipient Deck electrician Chris Rose is this year’s Homer L. Ferguson Award recipient. Rose joined Newport News Shipbuilding in 2017. He built wireways and pulled cables on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) before starting his apprenticeship in 2018.

Originally from Midlothian, Virginia, Rose graduated from Clover Hill High School in 2001 and earned credits at Virginia Commonwealth University and George Mason University prior to his shipbuilding career. He also worked various roles within the restaurant and automotive industries.

During his time at NNS, Rose has supported a variety of projects in the Virginia-Class Submarine Program, as well as the Nimitz- and Ford-class programs, and is currently working on USS George Washington (CVN 73). When not on an aircraft carrier, he can be found working on cars and motorcycles or spending time as an aviation photographer. Rose is an excited new father who resides in Chesapeake with his wife Lisa and 2-month-old son Liam.

Honors Program

The Honors Program recognizes outstanding shop and academic grades during the apprenticeship.

Apprentices who complete the World Class Shipbuilder Curriculum are eligible to graduate “with honors.” Those who complete one of the school’s Advanced Shipyard Operations Curriculum Optional Advanced Programs are eligible to graduate “with honors,” “with high honors” or “with highest honors.”

Apprentices with honors designations are wearing a gold stole and have an Honors Program emblem affixed to their diploma.

Advanced Shipyard Operations

The Advanced Shipyard Operations Curriculum Optional Advanced Program allows apprentices to continue their postsecondary education, expand their experience in waterfront operations and develop leadership skills to improve the quality and efficiency of production, manufacturing and maintenance processes.

Frontline FAST

Frontline Foreman Accelerated Skills Training (FAST) is an intensely focused leadership development program dedicated to producing an elite pool of graduates with the desire, aptitude and skill set to be frontline supervisors at Newport News Shipbuilding. Selection for Frontline FAST is determined by conduct and attendance, shop and academic grade point averages and lead craft instructor and craft instructor recommendations.

Gold Athletic Award

Athletics are an important part of the total educational process of leadership development. The Gold Athletic Award recognizes apprentices who have consistently excelled at their apprenticeship, while also demonstrating commitment to their particular sport or activity. Recipients must letter each of the four years in the same sport or activity, which represents a great deal of hard work, time and effort. No transfer credit is awarded for a Gold Athletic Award.

Rarely does an official seal emblem incorporate as much symbolism about an organization as the very detailed Apprentice School Seal. Even more unusual, the seal was created by one of the shipyard’s skilled craftsmen who, appropriately enough, was an alumnus apprentice.

A contest was held in 1942, seeking a design for a seal. None of the initial entries were considered suitable. So the school turned to one of their own, Richard B. (Dick) Poythress. What he fashioned won quick acceptance and has been a hallmark of the school ever since.

In 1937, Poythress became the 13th person to complete an apprenticeship in the Paint Department. He worked in the yard’s Sign Shop for decades, applying a natural artistic capability to his varied assignments. During his time, he was the art director of the Broad A when it was founded.

Following graduation, he provided guidance and advice to that publication’s staff for many years. Poythress also frequently contributed cartoons to the Shipyard Bulletin and local newspapers, often poking fun at shipyard practices and officials, as well as local politicians.

His greatest and most lasting contribution, undoubtedly, is this venerable seal.

The chain represents unity; the anchor, security; the propeller, progress; the pilot wheel, guidance; and the stars, lofty aims in life. On each blade of the propeller is an appropriate symbol representing the school’s motto inscribed on the hub: Head, Hand, and Heart. On the anchor’s flukes, 1919 signifies the year The Apprentice School became a formal entity.

Unfortunately, Poythress is no longer with us, but he left behind this truly outstanding example of his understanding of what our school was, is and should be for generations to come.

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