Orange Coast College, U.S. Coast Guard partner to help grads boost career prospects
Jake Buscaglio grew up around boats — enjoying watersports, cruising Newport Harbor and even working on vessels — so when it came time to college and choosing a career path, he naturally gravitated to Orange Coast College’s Professional Mariners Program.
“I just knew I wanted to be on a boat somewhere,” the 21-year-old Costa Mesa resident recalled Friday. “That was pretty much it.”
He entered the program in 2021, learning the intricacies of the maritime industry as he studied navigation, seamanship and yacht keeping and fostering hopes of someday getting a job as a crewman on a charter boat, tug or container ship.
But it wasn’t until later when, struggling with his grades and having to withdraw from classes altogether, Buscaglio got help from an instructor to chart a completely different course — the U.S. Coast Guard.
“She knew I was very interested in the industry and could tell I was invested, despite my grades there,” he said. “She said with a career in the Coast Guard there are a lot of opportunities to be underway on a boat and to see a lot of cool places.”
Buscaglio enlisted, entering an eight-week training program in February. After winning a special award for seamanship, which he attributes to his OCC training, he graduated at the rank of seaman (E-3) in April.
The Orange County native is currently stationed in Charleston, S.C., and will soon take off on the USCGC Stone, a 418-foot national security cutter equipped for months at sea. Within a year’s time, he hopes to move up a rank, becoming petty officer third-class (E-4).
Recognizing an opportunity to give a leg up to students like Buscaglio, while incentivizing them to complete their studies and earn associate’s degrees in fields applicable to military service, Orange Coast College and the U.S. Coast Guard have formed a one-of-a-kind partnership for potential recruits.
Approved by college trustees earlier this month, a Direct Enlistment Lateral Entry Program allows certain graduates — such as those from the college’s professional mariner program, for example, as well as aviation science and culinary arts — to be eligible to enlist as a petty officer third-class.
Greg Wisener, a retired Coast Guard officer who runs OCC’s Waterfront Campus in Newport Beach, said the new partnership will help build upon the core tenets of the program.
“The program’s goal is to expose students to as many areas of the maritime industry as possible, and the Coast Guard is a part of that,” he added. “And that’s still the goal now, to give young people the opportunity to see what’s possible out there and, hopefully, talk to people who are doing it.
Wisener said representatives from the Coast Guard reached out in spring of 2023 to talk about how they might enhance recruitment efforts by identifying students already in courses of study that directly alight with specific training programs and needs within the service.
Starting in the 2024-25 school year, eligible graduates would be able to spring ahead of basic Coast Guard recruits, potentially entering at a higher rank and earning higher pay and greater benefits. Having already received training for particular rating, or occupation, in the service further streamlines the on-boarding process.
Capt. Karen Prioleau — a faculty member who coordinates the Professional Mariners Program and who encouraged Buscaglio to consider enlisting — called the partnership a win-win-win for Orange Coast College, the Coast Guard and, most importantly, the students.
“We’re all about students having jobs and careers. That’s our mission 100%,” she said. “And the advantage of a program like this is it keeps students in school. [So] they gain more education, they see more opportunities and they’re that much more mature.”
Many enrollees in desirable fields of study get plucked up by companies before they’ve obtained their degrees, but those who stay the course tend to position themselves for even better prospects, such as transferring to maritime academies and eventually becoming captains.
As for the Coast Guard, recruiting potential members from training programs that closely align with the branch’s own training programs ensures candidates are well prepared to move into specific occupations, according to Capt. Ben Keffer, a commanding officer for the Coast Guard Recruiting Command in Washington, D.C.
The 12,000-square-foot center is part of the school’s Waterfront Campus.
“If you’d like to join, you don’t have to start at step one. You’re going to start at step three because you have skills already that you can utilize in your military career and we don’t have to train you for that work,” Keffer said. “If you want to be an aviation engineer and work on helicopters, you can do that. If you want to be a cook, you can do that.”
A further benefit to the military, Keffer added, is that OCC graduates who participate in the program and go on to have successful careers will come back to the Costa Mesa campus and share their experience for other potential recruits.
It’s an opportunity Buscaglio wishes he had as a student, one that might have motivated him to complete his coursework and earn an associate’s degree.
“Being a boatswain’s mate third class — that’s the exact rate I’m trying for now,” he said Friday. “If that would have existed while I was there, I absolutely would have tried to finish the program. I would encourage [students] to do that, or at least look into it and do some research. There are a lot of options and opportunities.”
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