Category Archives: Recent Graduates

Jim Bass – Class of 2012 – with the 911 mascot at Caroline County Summerfest

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration.

This may sound a little juvenile, but classes I took at the beginning of my work within the concentration led to my first experience thinking to myself, “Wow, I really love what I’m studying in college.” It was a realization I had several times throughout my time in the concentration. It happened while learning about the Incident Command System, as nerdy as that is, and learning about base isolation building technologies as earthquake mitigation practices, and applying disaster relief experiences to a film-making project about the human element of natural disasters. It’s thrilling to have those moments of awareness that what you’re doing makes sense and feels right, and the support that we the students received from all faculty members in having those sorts of revelatory experiences was always wonderful.

Where were you placed for your practicum?

For my practicum I was placed at the Cecil County Department of Emergency Services in Elkton, MD. It was a very positive experience that served as good complement to the classroom education of UD. In our classes we learned about research, best practices, and theoretical ways of looking at emergency management. In the practicum at CCDES I got to experience first-hand how emergency management actually works in the real world. My coworkers in Cecil County allowed me to get involved in several projects that touched on multiple phases of emergency management – I got to experience mitigation projects, preparedness education, and elements of emergency response that you just can’t get in the classroom. The emergency management education at UD would not be complete without a hands-on practicum to put the studies in perspective.

What has been your academic, employment, or volunteer path since graduation?

My practicum led to a grant-funded position at Cecil County, where I continued my work as an emergency planner. When a full-time planner position opened in Queen Anne’s County, MD, I jumped on the opportunity. Emergency management on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is an interesting and exciting environment to work in. The Eastern Shore planners are a very fraternal group of colleagues constantly working together on emergency, training, and legislative-oriented projects. As a member of this emergency management community I have had the opportunity to create plans for the local government, lead and participate in training exercises, educate citizens in preparedness practices, staff emergency operations centers in times of disaster, and assist local populations in times of recovery. My profession has helped me tap into a passion for helping people in need and every day brings new opportunities and challenges.

Why was the concentration valuable to you?

The field of emergency management is currently undergoing a changing of the guard. The elder generation is largely retired public safety professionals – many leaders in EM communities today come from backgrounds in fire, law enforcement, and EMS. In the past, emergency management was something you did when you were on light duty or retired early. Today, EM is an emerging field of its own with young people coming out of school wanting trained and educated to work specifically in this field. In the very near future emergency management nationwide is going to be run by new-school professionals with higher educational degrees who have backgrounds in social sciences, public policy, and economics as well as the traditional public safety skill sets. I am grateful for my time, experiences, and education in the Emergency Management Concentration at UD because I am a member of this new wave of EM and I am trained to look at our field differently, take it new places, and help people in new ways. In my opinion an education in EM can’t be just practical or just academic; it needs to be the proper marriage of both. I think the program at UD is successful in that marriage and has potential to prepare many more young people in years to come for the challenges that come with taking emergency management to new levels in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.

Josh Kelly – Class of 2010 – at the National Institute of Disaster Management in New Delhi.

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration.

There were two things during my time at UD that shaped my interest in disaster research and emergency management. The first was during winter break my freshman year I worked with Habitat for Humanity in the 9^th Ward in New Orleans helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and the second was taking Introduction to Disaster Research with Dr. Wachtendorf. Dr. Wachtendorf’s class was set up similar to a graduate level course and focused on participation, core theories and group work. While this course helped prepare me for graduate school more so than any other course I took as an undergraduate, it also provided me with a strong base of modern disaster theory that I still draw on and the constant focus on group work really helped prepare me for the realities of working in a professional setting. Another incredibly valuable aspect of taking Dr. Wachtendorf’s class was that she offered me an opportunity to volunteer at the DRC, which eventually snowballed into me taking on the concentration, working as a research assistant and into my current work in emergency management. Taking the class and the subsequent opportunities that it opened up for me have really been a tremendous professional asset and were one of the more meaningful decisions I made as an undergraduate.

Where were you placed for your practicum?

I completed my internship at the Disaster Research Center and the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management. Working at DRC was invaluable in that it gave me a unique skill set in research and professional writing/publishing that most young graduates don’t have and it also gave me the opportunity to build an extensive professional network through a world class research institute. Also, working for the New Castle County OEM gave me some great on the ground experience and helped me learn the practical realities and road blocks that come along with implementing theory and research into practice.

What has been your academic, employment, or volunteer path since graduation? 

After I graduated from the University of Delaware I immediately went to pursue a graduate degree from the University of North Texas, where I graduate in 2012 with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Emergency Management. While at UNT I worked as a graduate research assistant researching the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion event and a project looking at how host communities reacted to receiving evacuees from the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Currently, I work for the City of Mesquite, TX as a Management Analyst and, in my spare time, I’ve continued researching and publishing disaster related articles/reports focused on bringing research theories to a local government audience. UPDATE: In 2015 Josh Kelly began an appointment as State Public Assistance Officer / Natural Hazard’s Planner for the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.

Why was the concentration valuable to you? 

One of the most valuable things about the program is that it helped connect me to the worldwide network of DRC alumni and affiliates and at the same time gave me a professional skill set that was applicable to both my future academic work as well as the day-to-day aspects of my current practitioner job. An example I always use about the extensive nature of the DRC network is that on my first day in graduate school I was wearing a University of Delaware t-shirt to one of my emergency management courses. My shirt sparked a conversation with my professor about UD and the DRC in general and once he found out my background with the program/DRC I was offered a graduate research position on the spot. While that experience might not be typical, it is certainly not unusual for me to be interacting with a local level emergency manager and they reference the work of a UD faculty member or the research coming out of the DRC.

Samantha Penta – Class of 2011 – conducting research on disaster relief following 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes.

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration.

My first disasters course was Disasters and Society, which I took in the fall of my sophomore year.  Looking back, this course was incredibly important in shaping the academic and career path that I am on now.  In our weekly discussions and final papers, we took the material we learned in class and in readings and applied it to scenarios.  This was both my first exposure to the disasters literature and the first time I began to critically examine disaster phenomena.  I found this really exciting.  Not only was I learning more about the field, but I was learning how to take that new knowledge and use it.

Where were you placed for your practicum? 

I was placed at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) for my practicum.

My time at DEMA was tremendously eye-opening as to what life in emergency management looks like in the everyday experience of those in the field.  Not only did my time at DEMA help me to understand how the concepts, practices, and challenges discussed in classes manifest in an applied setting, but since my internship, time and again I have used the knowledge and experience I gained during my practicum in coursework and in the projects I work on as a part of my work at the Disaster Research Center.

What has been your academic, employment, or volunteer path since graduation?

Since graduation, I have continued my studies at the University of Delaware.  I earned my M.A. in Sociology in 2013, and I am currently working towards my Ph.D. in Sociology, with the intent to pursue a career in disaster research.  In addition, I am a Graduate Research Assistant at the Disaster Research Center, working on projects examining a range of issues from emergency preparedness challenges for long-term care facilities, to motivations for organization of and participation in donations efforts for disaster relief.

Why was the concentration valuable to you?

The Emergency and Environmental Management concentration was tremendously valuable by providing me with multiple avenues through which to learn about disasters and job opportunities in the field.  I could concentrate on courses explicitly focused on disasters, but was also guided to other classes that more broadly enriched my understanding of emergency management, even if that was not course’s the area of focus.  In addition to formal education in the classroom setting, being in the concentration guided me to a community of students, scholars, and practitioners with similar interests, helping me to build a professional network that has been immensely valuable.  As an undergraduate and after graduation, this network exposed me to research and work experiences such as my internship, the Summer Scholars Program, and opportunities to present my research at national and international conferences that have been critical in furthering my academic and professional development.

Spencer Schargorodski – Class of 2011 – meeting President Obama at FEMA headquarters

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration.

My overall experience with the Emergency and Environmental Concentration at the University of Delaware was very positive. The ability to learn how society reacts, responds and recovers from a disaster is very useful in my current job and provides a “leg up” on other young professionals searching for jobs. The wide range of experience the professors have at DRC, from engineering, to collective behavior, to ICS/NIMS, I feel as though I have received a well-rounded education. One positive experience was the hands on nature of the program. In one of the courses we evaluated a disaster exercise that the Nursing department hosted. The realistic nature of the exercise allowed me and my classmates the ability to take what we have learned in the classroom and apply it to the evaluation.

Where were you placed for your practicum?

I was placed at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington D.C. in their Directorate of Contingency Operations and Homeland Security. Not only did I learn about the military and the role of USACE  in emergency response, at the conclusion of my practicum I was brought on as a “career conditional” employee. This means that they helped to pay for my graduate degree and upon completion was placed in a federal career path in emergency management.

What has been your academic, employment, or volunteer path since graduation?

I am currently working as the USACE Assistant Liaison Officer to FEMA HQ. This is an exciting and unique position where I am able to help influence policy as well as planning at both organizations. During disasters, I report to the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) where I serve as an Assistant Team Leader carrying out FEMA mission assignments. To date, Hurricane Sandy was the longest deployment, working 12 hr shifts for three weeks straight.

I have also completed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) level II training in Fairfax, Va. This volunteer path enabled me to get hands on first responder experience.

Lastly, I am in my last semester at the George Washington University Master’s program studying Engineering Management and concentrating in Crisis, Emergency, and Risk Management.

Why was the concentration valuable to you?

This concentration provided the foundation of my emergency management knowledge. Soon after enrolling in disaster courses I became fascinated by the complex and rapidly evolving field. In addition to learning from a variety of experienced professors, I also networked through the IAEM chapter at UD and through DRC events.

Kristin Dukes – Class of 2013

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration.

The DRC is my most powerful memory of the concentration because I spent a lot of my time in the DRC.  I was lucky enough to work on three research projects there with professors and graduate students in the field.  I learned a lot about emergency management as a field in my time at DRC.  My most memorable moment there was the Boston Marathon bombing: I was working on a project for a grad student, the T.V. came on, and everyone sat around and watched, then immediately started collecting media reports for our library.  It was my last semester at UD and it was an experience that grounded my decision to choose emergency management as my career path because it made me truly excited to be in the field.

I was placed in the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center of Delaware.  It is my home county and it was interesting to go behind the scenes of emergency management where I grew up.  A positive outcome of the practicum was networking.  I was able to meet people who worked at the Delaware Emergency Management Agency at meetings during my practicum, which resulted in me taking an internship at DEMA, where I met more people who were genuinely interested in my growing as an emergencymanager.

I am currently working as a Junior Planner at Innovative Emergency Management in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I took an internship with IEM that led to a full time position with them.  I am working on EOP updates right now, and will be trained in COOP planning.

I went into UD as a different major, one that felt boring and monotonous.  Once I changed my major and joined the Emergency Management Concentration, I finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be.  It was exciting and different and ever-evolving, which was valuable to me, because those were the traits I wanted my career to hold for me, too.

Austin Barlow with his proud parents – Class of 2012

Tell us about a memory or reflection related to the concentration:

Over the course of my education at the University of Delaware, there was one facility on campus that was singularly responsible for my academic and professional success: The Disaster Research Center (DRC).  As a student within the Emergency and Environmental Management Concentration, I saw the DRC as a wonderland of sorts.  Whether it was exploring the library or working as a student researcher, I frequently stopped to reflect on how lucky I was to have access to such unique resources.  Above all, I value the mentors who guided and inspired me over the course of my college career; none of whom I would have met otherwise.

Where were you placed for your practicum?

One of the best elements of the Emergency and Environmental Management concentration is the practicum.  My advisor was willing to give me credit for a previous internship I had with the Red Cross over one summer, which created the opportunity for me to pursue other internships during my academic breaks.  I was able to work with the University’s Emergency Manager during one break and was provided with extensive opportunities to give back to UD and further my professional training.

What has been your academic, employment, or volunteer path since graduation?

After I graduated, I spent a year as a Field Team Leader in the AmeriCorps NCCC FEMA Corps program.  I led a disaster response team across the US and assisted in the federal disaster operations for both Hurricane Sandy and the severe winter storms that pummeled the New England region.  We learned to live and breathe “National Service”. The experience was rewarding beyond expression, and I never would have come across it if I had followed any other path.

Why was the concentration valuable to you?

It gave meaning to my passion.  I knew I wanted to make the world a safer place, but this concentration showed me how to do it.