David M. Bajorin

Political Science Major, 2006

Current Position: I am presently a Petty Officer Third Class, Boatswain's Mate, attached to the US Coast Guard Cutter Fir based in Astoria, Oregon.  My duties onboard consist of driving the ship in open water, upkeep of all navigation equipment and charts, driving our small boats for Search-and-Rescue (SAR) and Law Enforcement missions, and conducting all manner of deck work and maintenance including painting, working with rope, wire and chain.  Our ship's primary mission is conducting maintenance and upkeep of close to 150 buoys throughout the Oregon and Washington coasts, river inlets, and offshore waters including the treacherous entrance to the Columbia River, known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific" for all the ships which have been wrecked in the area because of the nasty sea conditions.
 
In my two years in the Coast Guard, I have been stationed in four different states.  I was in Boot Camp in Cape May, New Jersey, then assigned to a Search-and-Rescue Station in Gloucester, Massachusetts, then Boatswain's Mate "A" School in Yorktown, Virginia, and finally onboard the Fir here in Oregon.  In almost a year onboard Fir, I have traveled to some very interesting places, including Seattle, San Francisco, and about a week and a half in Juneau and Glacier Bay, Alaska.
 
In the future, I will be making the attempt to become a Surfman, known as the most skilled small boat drivers in the Coast Guard.  The program is a 4-6 year process to earn the Surfman insignia, almost like going to college again, but it's a college with a different sort of skillset given to its students.  Surfmen are taught to take our toughest and most unsinkable small boats to the limits of their performance, up to 30 foot seas and 50 knots of wind, with the sole mission of saving lives. Because the program is so demanding, only about 50-60% of Surfman positions in the Coast Guard are actually filled.
 
If someone asked me five years ago if I thought this is where I would be in my life, I would have said absolutely not.  Now that I am here, however, I wouldn't trade this job or this lifestyle for anything in the world.  I have the opportunities to travel, job security, strong benefits, and guaranteed retirement after 20 years of service.  Not to mention I get to earn my living saving lives, which could be one of the most rewarding and satisfying jobs anywhere.

Michael Swiatek

International Studies Major, 1985

Currently Michael is Managing Director of his own firm, Swiatek Advisory Services which is a boutique consultancy firm to the aviation industry. Michael lives in Auckland New Zealand with his wife and three children.

Ashley E. Smith

Political Science Major, 2009

Ashley is currently attending the Rockefeller School of Public Affairs and Policy at SUNY Albany where she is getting her Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Local Government; City Management. She is currently interning for the American Red Cross of Northeastern New York in their State Relations office. Regarding her time at Iona, Ashley writes, "I greatly enjoyed my time at Iona and enjoyed even more my time in the Political Science Department. If it wasn't for the professors I wouldn't be where I am now. They truly prepare you for the future and help you realize that you are capable of achieving anything."