Joshua M. Smith ’92
Major at MMA: Yacht Operations
Extracurricular involvement while at MMA: Theater Club
Employer: U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
Where has your career taken you since graduation?
Massachusetts, Caribbean, South America on ships. All over the U.S., Canada, Belgium, and Portugal as a professor.
What is your current title and what are your responsibilities?
Professor and Head, Department of Humanities, and Interim Director of the American Merchant Marine Museum.
What piece of advice would you give to a student going into your field?
Stay open to opportunities around the world. Don’t be afraid to go overseas for work and the experience.
How did the MMA experience prepare you for both your prior positions and your current career focus?
The license was great, and while I was younger I was glad to work on ferries and some small cruise ships. But it has really been my exposure and understanding of maritime affairs writ large that has allowed me to become an effective maritime historian.
What are your goals for the future?
I’m pretty wrapped up with my family at this stage of life, but I do have some projects. I’d like to lead a team on a project I call the Historical Atlas of American Maritime History, and I’m still working on a manuscript about Maine and the War of 1812. I really like my position at USMMA, and just made full professor there.
Latest Alumni at Work
- Benjamin Moll ’11Benjamin Moll ’11 Major at MMA: SVO Employer: Poling & Cutler Marine Transportation Where has your career taken you since graduation? My career has taken me from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast and a few places in between. I’ve been with five companies, and worked on Tugs and OSVs of various sizes. What is […]
- Warren Hamm ’49Warren Hamm ’49 Major at MMA: Engineering Extracurricular involvement while at MMA: Mess Deck Master at Arms, Band, Drill Squad Employer: U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (retired) Where has your career taken you since graduation? Since graduation my career has taken me all over the world including Korea and Portugal where I lived for some time. I […]
- Victoria Cooper ’17Victoria Cooper ’17 Major at MMA: International Business & Logistics Extracurricular involvement while at MMA: Women’s Soccer, Women’s Lacrosse, SBLA Employer: Strategic Maintenance Solutions, Inc. (SMS) Where has your career taken you since graduation? Directly after graduation, I started working for SMS in the Gorham, Maine office. I travel quite a bit in this position. I’ve […]
- Jeffrey Stenberg ’82Jeffrey Stenberg ’82 Major at MMA: Marine Engineering Extracurricular involvement while at MMA: APO, Summer Sailing Employer: William Kramer & Associates Where has your career taken you since graduation? I have lived in New Orleans, LA; Kobe, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Long Beach, CA; Paramus, NJ; Westbrook, CT; Southwick, MA; Frankfurt, Germany; Granby, MA; Waterville, ME; Edgecomb, […]
- Jeff Ivory ’95Jeff Ivory ’95 Major at MMA: Marine Engineering Technology Extracurricular involvement while at MMA: 3rd Class Striker Employer: Transocean Where has your career taken you since graduation? I joined Global Marine drilling in 1995, which through merger became part of Global Santa Fe in 2001, and part of Transocean in 2007. I have worked offshore in […]
- Peter Longley ’71Peter Longley ’71 Major at MMA: Marine Engineering Employer: Self-employed Where has your career taken you since graduation? After graduating in 1971, it took all of one week to get a job as 3rd Engineer on the Great Lakes with Interlake Steamship. There was an impending Steel Strike in August that year, so I went home […]
