My name is Kyle Coburn. This is my
second year at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy- Deck Program. I’m originally
from Edgerton, Ohio, but I was born in Goldsboro, NC on Seymour Johnson
Airforce Base.
When I was much younger, I moved
around due to my Dad being in the airforce. One of the places I moved to was
Alconbury, England where I lived for three years. I actually developed an
English accent while living in England, but that was lost years ago after
moving back to the states. If you listen real closely, you can sometimes pick
up on my accent, but that’s coming from close friends and sometimes I don’t know what they’re talking about.
My career decisions to work on
ships started when I was eight years old when I spotted my first ship passing
through the Soo Locks. I started researching maritime academies in the U.S.
when I stumbled upon the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and I knew right away
that was my dream school. After being accepted into the program back in 2007, I
knew that I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for school after completing one
semester. That led me to another career change which involved enlisting in the
U.S. Navy.
I signed my life away to the Navy as
a ship’s Quarter Master (ship navigator) January 2008 and was shipped out to bootcamp
in March of 2008. After completing bootcamp and A School, I was stationed in
San Diego, CA aboard the USS Dubuque and deployed to the Middle East.
Deployment was a little scary knowing that we were at war and anything could
happen, but I knew I had a job to do and a country to serve.
After a couple years in Active
service, I automatically transitioned to the Navy Reserves and was stationed in
Toledo, OH. There, I was apart of the Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron
14 Boat Det Bravo (MSRON 14) where I worked on small boats and updated
navigational equipment. After four years of good service in the Navy, I
reenlisted in the Reserves as a Boatswains Mate for an additional four years
and now currently stationed in Saginaw, MI.