today we worked with eighth grade Seward middle school and teaching them some of the different things that we do in the maritime industry it's anything from putting out fires and putting on self-contained breathing apparatus SCBA is a full turnout gear going into a burning ship and putting out a fire - jumping in a pool with a with an immersion suit on or a survival suit and then hopping into a life raft from there and then hopping out of the life raft getting into a helicopter basket for a helicopter rescue scenario to driving a ship in a full mission bridge simulator so it's all very hands-on and fun this is that opportunity that next step okay they're exposed to the water that's great but what does that mean they don't necessarily understand what it's like on these larger ships did something I wish I would have had as a young person didn't know what a mariner was when I got here and then I kind of learned about it and it sounded like a lot of fun and they said they had a lot of fun doing it doing what they do and I just think that's cool so part of the firefighting training that you did today we also want to have other contingency plans if we're not successful at putting out the fire so and that's why we're gonna take you out and show you how to deploy a life raft is that pretty cool or what you know Alaska's unique in that we're really in a maritime culture kind of see someone with a little light bulb turn on wow I like it I could do this this isn't something that's scary or unachievable I can totally do this Alaska at work is part of American graduate getting to work made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting