speaker-0: Welcome to 50 Years of HerStory, a podcast from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. ⁓ am your host, Nicolle Bogden Class 2012. ⁓ This honors the women who have helped shape the Coast Guard Academy over the past 50 years, ⁓ the who opened doors, ⁓ the who pushed for change, ⁓ and voices who continue to shape the future of the service. ⁓ In episode, I am joined by Patti Tutalo Coast Guard Academy class of 2000. Patti's path to the Academy began with a major obstacle. A serious bicycle accident just two months before reporting to the Naval Academy Prep ⁓ But her story is one of far more than ⁓ It is a story of ⁓ ⁓ and showing up for ⁓ From her time as a to her Coast Guard career the work she continues today, ⁓ has been guided by a deep commitment to advocacy, ⁓ and space for others to thrive. This is Patti's HerStory. ⁓ Patti.

speaker-1: Hi.

speaker-0: Welcome, welcome to 50 Years of HerStory. And thank you so much for being here with us today. I quickly just wanted to ask before we get started if you could give us a background of little bit of your Coast Guard time and where you are currently today.

speaker-1: Yeah. Well, thanks for having me. This is an honor to be a part of this. And thank you for doing it. ⁓ it's important to tell these stories. So my background is I was a Naval Academy Prep School class of 96 and then a Coast Guard Academy class of 2000. During my Coast Guard career, I had a little wonky career, meaning I was told at several points during my career that that wasn't the best job for my career. But I took it anyways because it was something that I was interested in. And then they kept promoting me, so I just kept staying. So during my career I did I started out on Coast Guard Cutter Dependable. And then from there I did a little bit of you know, I was in the D one command center as a SAR controller. I did a little bit of HSWL so health safety, work life. I did some time at the personnel service center. And I'm doing like a really broad brush. I also was at the Naval Academy. Prep school as a company officer. And then my final tour, which was also probably my hardest tour, but also my most impactful. And what sort of got me on my journey post-retirement was I was the gender policy advisor. ⁓ and during that time, I really went into it trying to have impact and make a difference for not only women, but everyone in the Coast Guard. So it was a really It was a really frustrating, really hard tour, but we got some really cool stuff done, including the women's retention study ⁓ done by Rand Corporation, completed by Rand. So from there now I'm doing my own consulting company. I started that a few years back and primarily I like to work with maritime industry, military, first responders, anyone that needs assistance with culture. I like to say is the broad umbrella, but within culture it's everything from supporting members who are exposed to high stress environments, tr trauma, but also ⁓ working on sexual assault and sexual harassment, prevention and response, and just overall just generally promoting a healthy environment. I also started WAVES with my dear friend and classmate Josi Heron. ⁓ and Waves is the women and veteran executives. So that's been a really fun group. It's it's still kind of the early stages where ⁓ we found that there was a not an organization out there to support us as senior leaders and also entrepreneurs, ⁓ but also women veterans. I I like to say that when I go to the bus stop in the morning to put my kid on the bus, the people at the the women at the bus stop just don't understand me. Like my other women veterans do. So so that's kind of why we started it and it's been fantastic. We we do retreats, workshops, and ⁓ speaker series for that. I also have been working with the cadets, feeling really passionate about going back and helping the cadets. So I've done a few capstones with them and I'm currently doing a capstone with them right now where they're working with a nonprofit that's local to me down here in Virginia. And ⁓ it's been a lot of fun. there's something about working with the younger generation and their passion and their excitement and and they're smart. They're so incredibly smart. So it's been it's been a lot of fun. Yeah.

speaker-0: That's so wonderful. That's so great. I just spent a weekend with the cadets at the Secretaries' Cup and they're hilarious. I'm like, I definitely was not this cool when I was a cadet. They're so awesome. I loved it so much. Okay, so before we get started on your academy journey, I wanted to bring us even farther back into your journey to the academy. I remember speaking to you before and there was a couple bumps in the road and and kind of a way of getting there. And I I'm hoping you could take us through that.

speaker-1: Yeah, so prior to like actually two months prior to reporting to the Academy or to NAPS the Naval Academy Prep School, I had a pretty severe bicycle accident where I was on the and O Canal Trail down in Maryland, about six miles from Harper's Ferry, which was gonna be the end of our weekend trip, a bicycle trip, ⁓ I fell off a ⁓ of a bridge on one of the towpaths and It didn't have railings for all those people. So want to question how I fell off a bridge without railings. So I always put that out there right away. It does not have real it did not have railings. And I think still to this day, I don't think it has railings. So I fell ⁓ headfirst onto one of the concrete, what do you call it? Like it doesn't matter. It's like one of the concrete like things supports, I guess is what you would call it. And not an engineer. And so I was wearing my helmet, luckily, and that literally saved my life. ⁓ my helmet was pretty cracked and messed up from it. So imagine if that was my brain on, you know, hitting. But really the damage was internal. So I had a lot of internal bleeding. Ended up losing about 40% of my blood. And ⁓ it was it was tough getting me out of there. But once I eventually got to a hospital, there was weather also. I was in a helicopter for the first time. It finally got me to a hospital where they did exploratory surgery and Exploratory surgery is basically where they don't have time to really know what's going on. They just need to save my life. So they cut me open just straight down all my abs. And it was it was pretty traumatic physically. ⁓ they repaired, I think my pancreas it was bleeding. They repaired that, but then they couldn't repair my spleen. So they removed that. And luckily I survived, no problems. They stapled me up with a lot of staples and set me on my way and said, And they did not give me a blood transfusion. So that was probably the hardest part was just getting my blood count back up because I was so fatigued. They said you're not allowed to do anything for a month while you let your body heal. Meanwhile, I had to report to NAPS in two months. So ⁓ missed my high school graduation and was sent home, you know, after five days in the hospital was sent home. Well During that time when I was home, my mom got a call from a ⁓ my very stressed out mom who thought that I was going to die, ⁓ you know, a few weeks prior, gets a call from some some chief, lovely chief who from the Coast Guard, who said that they didn't they lost my medical, my DoDMERB physical, essentially. And so they lost it. And they said, You have to redo her whole physical prior to her reporting. And again, my very stressed out mom We are not doing that. She just was in the hospital where they took out every organ out of her body and put it back in. They looked at every inch of her body for damage. She is fine. She is fine. And I will send you the medical records from the hospital. She's fine. And the doctors I mean the chief was like, Okay, send me all the medical records and we'll take a look. So he looks at ⁓ all and he's like, Okay, you ⁓ we're we're good. Like you're you can just have her go. Well, what the What they didn't check at the ⁓ hospital was my eyesight. And so by the time I ended up fast forward to the academy, I I went for an eye exam and they're like, How did you get in? Your eyes are way beyond the limits. I was like, We don't need to talk about and they couldn't find my physical. All they could find was my medical records. So the whole thing was kind of comical. So I mean, there again, I was not supposed to be there. You know, ⁓ earlier we were talking about my SAT score was the highest I had gotten, which by the way, at the time was the minimum to even apply, was a n was a nine fifty. So in other words, I had absolutely no business applying. Physically I was a disaster. ⁓ and so yeah, so I was I shouldn't have I shouldn't have been there. I shouldn't have made it there. ⁓ but I did. And I think the the Bottom line is is I was supposed to be there for some reason. It was very hard because my abs were so obviously so weak because they had just been sliced up. So it was it was really, really difficult for me. And I also had a lot of hand I used my hand to break my fall. So I had a lot of still healing still to be done because of the deep, deep wound from my one hand. So even push-ups were like painful for me. But I remember, you know, and I was a pretty good athlete. I played basketball. I bicycled a lot. And it was pretty hard to be that down and be that person that was just getting the sixty six sit ups and s you know, when the minimum is sixty five. And it was really hard for me to like accept that. But I did it. And that was the bottom line. It was a lot of mind over matter to ⁓ to to get through it. So yeah.

speaker-0: Yeah, that's a lot of obstacles ⁓ of like getting there to Swab Summer, which is so hard. You've said, you know, I didn't I wasn't supposed to be there. What was it that kept you there?

speaker-1: I just knew I needed to be there. I never doubted. I shouldn't say I never doubted. I I always doubted that I wouldn't be able to graduate. ⁓ like I just I because I was told, you know, I I was a s I mean I I didn't have the grades in high school. I didn't have the SAT score, so I I didn't think I was gonna make it academically. and but I knew that I was supposed to be there. ⁓ There was never a doubt that that's where I was supposed to be. In fact, when I was trying to figure out which school to go to, my parents got really scared because I kept saying, I want to go to the Coast Guard Academy. And they're like, How are you gonna get in? You need a backup school because this is not very probable. And I was like, Nope, nope, I'm going there. I'm going there. And every school I visited, I'm like, they're boring. There's nothing, it's just an regular college. I'm not a regular kid. Like I needed something more. And so I think that's what sort of kept me there is I always had this like sort of higher purpose for me of being there than just it wasn't just an education. It was it was more of a this is where I'm supposed to be at this point in my life. So and I think my bicycle accident did have a lot to do with that too, because That was a very spiritual experience for me from the perspective of I really I shouldn't have done as well as I did after that, like physically. I shouldn't have it was just very like you were given a second chance, what are you gonna do with it? Type of type of concept. Like almost not quite a near death experience, but I guess I got a lot of those same messages from it, you know, where you have things to do still in this life, go do them. So

speaker-0: Wow, that's incredible. You get to swab summer, you do the sixty-six push or sit-ups instead of the sixty-five. You can make it through. Now you're into the school year. What is that like? You s you mentioned you play basketball. ⁓ you did help start a women's rugby team as well, if I'm not mistaken. How was your academy time? The relationships you made there that helped you get through those tough moments.

speaker-1: Yeah, I would say the relationships were everything for me. I would not have absolutely not have graduated without my friends, you know, the the professors that helped me. I still remember going to, you know, my chemistry teacher's office like every day to the point where I'm like, he's gonna kick me out, he's gonna cut me off and be like, you're not allowed anymore. But I just and even the tutors, I had so many people that were my tutors. And because I was a napster, I really knew all the military stuff pretty well. You know, I had a gunnery sergeant that was in charge of my company when I was at nap. So I knew the military like really, really well. So I remember switching like, you know, trading out stuff. Like, I'll iron your shirts for you if you will help me with physics homework or whatever, you know, I would do these kind of

speaker-0: Yeah. A little barter system. That's

speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like it's it was it's a it's a form of currency at the Academy. So we yeah, it was really it was really the people. And then that's not to mention like the friendships. I'm a very much a people person and I love people. So for me it was the relationships were everything everything. That's what got me through. Whether it was on the sports, you know, I also played I rode crew my freshman year and then Even at NAPS I did like volleyball and I mean I just I tried to get involved with as much as I could just to ⁓ just to be around people and get me out of the barracks and, you know, survive, I

speaker-0: I get that. It's the relationships that keep you going. It's funny. I similarly had an experience with my chemistry professor where I was like, Listen, I promise I will never do chemistry again. I you know, I don't need to know this. You're not gonna pass me and then ten years down the road I'm gonna fail something because of it. I was like, I really just need a D. Just give me D to like get me through this. You'll never have to see me again. I was like, If you family, I'm gonna be back next year. None of us want that. I was like, you're doing both of us a favor at this point. So I talked to a couple of your friends from the academy, Katie Simone being one of them. And she had some great stories about your times. And there is a theme with your friends, and it's that you are always there to support and show up and help whenever they call. And one of Katie's

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: stories that she told me was she was going through a really tough time and you guys hadn't spoken in a little while. ⁓ I think all academy grads know you can go years without speaking though and pick up a phone and it's like no time has passed. And she kind of just did that. She called you. She needed some help and you told her you were like come up and stay with me for the weekend. And that was kind of pivotal for her. in her time of need where you just were willing to kind of drop everything and and be there for her and something she said she'll always remember and she's so grateful for. But when your closest friends describe you as showing up ⁓ as a theme of who you are, where does that instinct to care for people come from? Where where does that come from to just be that person that people can call?

speaker-1: That's interesting. I never thought about where it comes from. I don't know. It just it's just a part of who I am, I guess. I just I have a real hard time seeing people in pain. ⁓ I am pretty empathic, so I feel a lot of people's pain. And also people talk to me. They'll tell me a lot. My kids actually joke. They're like, Mom, can we just go to the grocery store without the couch here telling you about their latest like medical issue? I'm like, sorry, guys. So I don't know. It's just kind of who I am. I I do care deeply for all people and I feel I feel pain of people, whether it's emotional, physical, or whatever. I I have felt it. I do feel it. And so but then I also have, I guess, the side of me that just if I see ⁓ it's funny, this this has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I never really identified it till recently I was talking to a another woman veteran and she identified it for me. She said, You have such a need for justice. And I never knew that was a thing for me, but it it really is. So it's a combination of feeling the pain, but also wanting to fix the system that is doing this to them. And get justice for whatever is causing that pain or whoever is causing that pain. I want to fix that. So it's that sort of combination, I guess, that that's just I was born with. I don't know. It's my soul, it's purpose, I guess. I don't know. But I just can't. And I wish I could sometimes. I wish I could just say, ⁓ it's not my problem. I don't want to think about it or I want to deal with I I just can't. I have to have to try. I at least have to try to help someone who is hurting.

speaker-0: Yeah. Wow, I love that. Katie also told me a story that was pretty funny about a time where ⁓ you were so and she thought it was funny because she wouldn't consider you somebody that even has fear. She's like, Patti's fearless. There is no fear. She goes, Except for this one time, actually, ⁓ we meeting our cutter ⁓ I it was third class summer ⁓ or like that. And You were being flown out in a helicopter. And the mechanic was giving their brief and they were explaining the safety procedures. And then he says, When we crash, this is what we're gonna do. And you heard that and took that and you were like, When we crash, he said, When we're gonna crash, we're gonna crash. And I guess that was maybe one of the only times Katie had seen you very scared. And she wanted to know. What scares you? What are some of your biggest fears? Because she doesn't see you as somebody who is fearful. You're the first one to speak up for somebody. You have no problem standing in front of a room full of people or in the wardroom giving announcements as a cadet. ⁓ but she is wondering what scares you?

speaker-1: Can we back up just a second about that story? Cause I want to tell you the rest of that story. Cause so what the full story was is this is just such a typical cadet experience, right? So we were all the way in Copenhagen, Denmark. So that's where this story started. Copenhagen, Denmark, on EAGLE right? They say, All right, you guys are gonna go meet. There were six of us girl cadets. They said, You guys are gonna go. From Denmark all the way to Alaska to meet so 10 time zones to meet this cutter, right? Cutter melon. And so we're like, all right, whatever. So we go by C 130 through Iceland to Connecticut. They give us like 12 hours, maybe. We do some laundry, whatever, get what we need. And then they send us from there through like Minnesota, I think, to Seattle. To Kodiak, Alaska. And then in Kodiak, we had 24 hours. And during that time, talk about fearless. We were so stupid as soon as cadets that we were like, we're gonna go on this hike, which we thought we were hiking a smaller, and I don't remember the mountains. There's old woman and there's barometer. I can't remember which one we thought we were hiking and which one, but we thought we were hiking the shorter one. We were hiking the bigger one. It was like five hours of the hiking. I call my dad and he's like, wait a minute, you were hiking in Kodiak, Alaska. Just the six of you girls or however many I I don't know if everybody went. He goes, without a gun, like without like there's bear, the Kodiak Bear, Patti. Like, have you heard of the I'm like, yeah, we saw one of those in the airport. Like, you know, like the stat. So talk about fearless. She's fearless too. We all were fearless. We didn't even think about it. We just went on this hike, didn't care. So then from Kodiak.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

speaker-1: Then we took a C-130 to Savoogna, St. Lawrence Island, which is not a tourist destination by any means. It's like right off the coast of Russia. It was a dirt landing strip. It was wild. like from the perspective of, I was like, where are we? I thought the academy just like totally sent us to some like Siberia. I was like, this is not like what is going on. ended ⁓ then they left us there look really took up for like about six hours until the helicopter came. Meanwhile we had no comms. Like it wasn't like we had a radio to like radio the hell the hilo, you know? And so then by the time the helicopter comes and he gives us this crash briefing, I'm like, of course we're gonna freaking crash. Like we have been on the journey from hell. Thank you Academy and and now we're gonna crash. Like what a finale to these Three days of pure hell. Anyways, we we laughed about it after. But the I will say going to Savoogna was was one of those really cool moments though in my career because I was very judgy when I first arrived. I was a stupid, you know, whatever, class cadet. And I was like, these people nothing. They're, you know, they're they look so, you know, they're this doesn't even look like America. And then I realized like after speaking with them again, my passion for people. So I talked to a bunch of the people that live there, you know, that are native to there and have not really I mean they go down to the lower forty eights from time to time, but that's they really prefer to live there. And it made me really c recalibrate what I think about materialism, you know, like all of the stuff that we have in the lower forty eight that we just don't need. And they have such a connection with their land. They have such a connection with each other. And it just really made me pause. So I I just wanted to share that rest of that story with you because I think it's just it was one of those moments teaching me to be a better leader, to not judge people based on, you know, whatever, whatever I see on face value that p everybody has something that they're bringing and and they were they were amazing. They embraced us for those six hours and just talked to us and they were great. But yeah, that's that's the whole story of why I was so freaked out by the helicopter crash comment. It had been a long couple of days.

speaker-0: You had already avoided all the dangers. How could you possibly avoid one more?

speaker-1: I know, I know. It was wild. But yeah, as far as fears, I don't know what what scares me. I mean it does scare me sometimes speaking out. I I won't lie, that does scare me sometimes, but it's to the point where i if it feels right in my body and I just do it. I don't know. I just I don't really care. And I won't lie, there is there is one thing that it does actually scare me and that's I do have a fear of fear of falling. Go figure.

speaker-0: Well.

speaker-1: So when I'm in places where there's no railings, obviously from my bicycle accident, I do have a little bit of an issue. So especially with the kids and stuff, whenever we go hiking and we're on an edge of a mountain or something, I'm like, like, we step back, everybody? ⁓ they kind of know mom's a little cray cray when it comes to that stuff. So I yeah, that does that does scare me. But s ⁓ speaking out from time to time does because I'm worried about what's gonna happen. To me or my family or whatever, you know, but but usually what I'm speaking is truth, so nothing is really I shouldn't say usually. I try to make it always about the truth. So n you really can't dispute it.

speaker-0: Yeah. And so if there is backlash, it was for a good reason or you still stand by what you're saying. Yeah. That's some courage that I think a lot of us are looking to find and just kind of be there to stand up for the right thing. So my conversation with Jamie Rosenberg was equally amazing. You are surrounded by great people. And she was telling me about a time at the Academy when you would

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: make announcements in the wardroom. ⁓ and they were almost like coded messages. I'm going to play a short clip from Jamie who remembers those wardroom announcements. I don't know how it was when you were at the Coast Guard Academy, but all the class wide announcements would happen and at the end of the usually, well, both meals, morning and noon, but especially the new meal, somebody would get up there just as everybody's getting ready to go and right before they dismissed everybody and everybody's talking and half listening. But you're up In front of the entire core cadets making these announcements, ⁓ which can be pretty nerve-wracking. ⁓ I don't even know if I have this term right, but the ⁓ I think it was like something like the communication and assertiveness task force will be meeting ⁓ at this time and just totally went over my head, you know. But I found out years later that that was a group of people that were dealing with ⁓ eating disorders. She wouldn't just do it in the first class primary, she was doing it as like a third class. Basically telling people that ⁓ in front of the entire corps of cadets in very coded language that there's a safe place for you to be to discuss something that's really deeply And I knew other people that dealt with disordered eating. I never had any awareness that Patti did, but I did know friends that, you know, we'd look for help and and and just that just shows you something about Patti's way to work within the system. And like have that moral courage to get up there and find a way to tell all the people in the corps of ⁓ that there's a safe place for you to deal with this issue and in a way that protected people's privacy, but made people feel like there was a place for them. How did you find that courage when you were still an underclassman and still finding your way?

speaker-1: I think that there was just it was just something that always tugged at my heart was in primarily I would advocate for women, women's issues. Some of the women had eating disorders while we were there. And I just saw all this happening and I'm like, why aren't we doing something? So it's like I wasn't one of those people that would just point the finger and say, What are you doing about it? I'm like, what can we do about it? Like let's all just get together and figure it out together. Because I just can't sit with somebody who's not doing well and not do anything about it. And just even getting a group of people in community, it might not change a policy, it might not change the situation, but at least it'll get them through to the next day. And so I think that's really what drove me. And I also think going back to, you know, one of your earlier questions about I really did think I was I had a purpose for being there. ⁓ and I think my purpose was to help people, not only through the academy, but, you know, outside and even to what I'm doing now. For example, I didn't mention this at the beginning, but another thing that I'm involved with right now is I'm working with the I'm on a committee for sexual assault at sea in the Coast Guard, trying to figure out what the Coast Guard can do to prevent and address sexual assault at sea. And that's through the National Academies. And it's been really rewarding, but it it you know, just I always just feel like I have to get involved in some way. Especially because I have I think I have solutions. It's not just like support. It's like if we only did this, this would be the result and this is what the research shows, you know? Yeah. So yeah. So I guess I just just tugs at my heart and I have to do something.

speaker-0: And you listen to that and you keep it going instead of somebody else will figure it out. Like you're that somebody and you're gonna help figure it out. Yeah, that's amazing.

speaker-1: I tried to be.

speaker-0: You are. We you you are. Jim Jim O'Keefe, a prior supervisor, I think, your time at PSC. You worked with him and

speaker-1: For all four years, by the way. Who has the same supervisor for like four years?

speaker-0: Yeah. And he is a character. That is a that is a long four years. That's probably in the best way. I mean, he is an aviator. I'm just kidding. So he had several, several stories about you, and I wish I had time to tell them all. But my favorite one that he told me was about a gift you gave him at your retirement. He was a speaker at your retirement, and you gave him, he said, a book with All the stories he had told throughout those four years, 70 plus stories, but you had given him a book with those stories listed as chapters to a book that he should write. That's like one of the best gifts. Like, how amazing is that gift to give somebody who was like, You have great stories, you should write a book. Here I outlined it for you already. That's amazing. And he said that was one of the ways that really kind of exemplified and showed your ability to mentor not just the people. who worked for you or with you and below you, but also the people you worked for. And he said you had this innate ability to mentor up. And while he thinks you consider him a mentor, he also considers you one of his mentors. And I just thought that he said it more eloquently than I could, but I thought that was just so amazing. And where does that instinct ⁓ come in for you to not just support and speak for those who kind of need that voice, but all to also mentor up to the people that you look up to.

speaker-1: kind of laughing because it's mentoring up it's like it's hilarious. Who am I to tell my boss? But you know, but no, I did. I would tell him things like, hey, you might want to do this. No, I guess I just can't keep my mouth shut on some things. I don't I don't but I I think it also says a lot about him as a boss and and several other bosses. You can't mentor up everybody. I had a lot of bosses actually that I I couldn't I couldn't give the feedback to. And that was super frustrating because they weren't open to any sort of feedback or any learning. But he was one that definitely was. And I think and I'm grateful for that. He's a true leader. He definitely cared about his people. Those stories were hilarious. And I gotta tell you why I did that, the little bit of background on that too. So normally he's with a person stationed with people for like one or two years, right? Throughout the Coast Guard, we're only stationed with each other for a short period of time. So he could do those stories. So he would tell those stories at all hands and blah, blah, blah. And they were very entertaining. But he only had like a year or two of material. And then he would start repeating them. And that's where I'm like, ⁓ here we go again. Story number 25. And I would like make fun of him for telling the stories over and over. But I was really the only one that heard them. And finally, I that's why so that's why I started. Like the joke was always he'd go to me and he'd be like, Hey, this is number thirty. And I'm like, Yep, number and they were we were just making up numbers. But so that's whenever I encouraged him. I'm like, you really need to write these down because they are they're leadership stories essentially. And ⁓ and they're they're stories that I still use from time to time with people. But the title of the book, if I could put a plug is Talk Cool, Fly Cool. if anybody wants to g get a copy. It it is quite funny. Yeah. Yeah. I think mentoring up is a is a funny term 'cause I I may have done it when people aren't really wanting mentoring.

speaker-0: But that's even better, right? Like you still call ⁓ out. I think that's what's made you so special for a lot of these people is being able to advocate and say, Hey, we are going down this path, but we should rethink that and maybe head this way.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. And I think and I would hope that other people would do that for me too. And they did, you know, definitely did. But I also think that you whenever you do those, whenever you speak up and you try to address people senior to you, even below you, it doesn't matter. I think as long as you ground everything in fact or research, it goes a lot farther than just an opinion or just thoughts. So that is one thing I always tried to do is make sure I really ground it in something. That it's not just Patti whining again or whatever, you know. This is this will get us there, you know. Right. It'll improve. Yeah. Thank you to our alumni community for your continued engagement. You are what keep this community strong and thriving, especially our members. Membership in your alumni association matters. It empowers connections between our alumni and the Academy to develop thriving and enduring relationships.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: It supports state of the art and margin of excellence enhancements for the core of cadets. And membership also comes with some pretty cool benefits like access to professional development and certifications, unique connection opportunities to grow your network, discounts and savings when welcoming back the whole family for homecoming, and so much more. Your membership even supports projects like this podcast. So stay connected, stay up to date, and ensure that your ties to the long blue line are. Remain strong. Become a member today at cgalumni.org slash eighteen eighty seven.

speaker-0: ⁓ okay, so you had mentioned that you've done a few capstones with cadets and I think you have a unique opportunity a lot of people in the Coast Guard activity don't have of working with cadets. ⁓ so now that you've seen this new generation, what makes you hopeful about the current cadets and the cadets you've worked with? Well

speaker-1: I love I love it. ⁓ they are they're energized. They're no nonsense. Like they they also just say things. you know what I mean? Like they just say it. They have a little bit more of an honesty to them. ⁓ and I should say in one of my contracts I also work with merchant marine cadets. So those going to Kings Point, which is always funny 'cause I'm always like, hey, we're rivals. ⁓ they they're like That's such a cheesy rivalry. But they're very and I get the same thing from them. Like it's just it's just ⁓ it's more of a fresh energy of and and innovation. ⁓ and that's actually why I love working with the cadets, because I feel like the academy doesn't always encourage the innovation. ⁓ or and I shouldn't just say the academy, I should say the military, because they wanna ⁓ you know, initial indoctrination is conform to being one way of being, you know, the way we dress, the way we everything is comply to this one standard. But I think that does a little bit of ⁓ disservice in the sense that we might lose some of that innovation or out-of-the-box thinking. So I like working with the cadets because you get you get to see them in an a in a way that they're thinking outside of the box. And And it's whenever you allow them, if you give them permission, you give anybody permission to think differently, they get excited. Like they get they have passion in there. And it's like when you squash that, that's whenever you see their light dim a little bit. But how can we like let that light be shining bright and let their ideas flow? Because these are some of the smartest kids in our country. Let's let their ideas flow, you know. And I just find that so exciting. So yeah. So I love getting on the calls. We we meet like pretty much weekly right now. And that's one of the things I say over and over again is just please just say it. Just say whatever comes across your brain, even if it's wrong. I'm not greeting you. I'm just a volunteer. And it's amazing what they come up with. It's just it's it's just powerful.

speaker-0: There is something to be said though about their willingness to say sometimes maybe scary things or ideas that they may not be super confident about. I know they need to feel safe and I'm sure you provide that safe environment. But even in the fields working as a lieutenant or an ensign or whatever, a captain even sometimes trying to say an idea or some some thought that they wanna say, there is this need to feel safe. to say those things that might be scary. It sounds like you just create those safe spaces for people to be free and think outside the box. And that's really amazing. So th thank you on behalf of everyone for allowing those ideas to flow in a safe and a comfortable way.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's important. And I and I don't think that it's always it is always safe. So I I appreciate you mentioning safety because that's a key component to allowing people to speak, speak up, think differently. Yeah. Yeah.

speaker-0: All right, so that that younger version of you the two months before reporting to Naval Academy Prep School with a big old scar down your middle, just recovering from your bike ride or your bike fall, I should say. I'm sure there were a lot of thoughts going through that that younger patty. If that Patti then could see Patti now, what do you think younger Patti would be thinking?

speaker-1: ⁓ you're gonna make me cry. I think she'd be proud. Yeah, I think she'd be proud. Yeah, and I would also say that She's she's grateful for everything that came out of that bicycle accident, you know, and that moment of yeah, just overcoming all of that doubt and overcoming all of the physical challenges and even mental, I guess, challenges. Yeah. Very proud.

speaker-0: I agree. I think she would be. I I know she would be. Closing up this little chat we've had, first I want to say again, thank you so much for being here today. When you look ahead to the next fifty years, what is kind of your hope? What are you excited for? What do you what do you hope for the next fifty years of women at the Coast Guard Academy?

speaker-1: First, can I just say I just I wanna say thank you to all of those that came previously. ⁓ 'cause they really led the way for us so and broke that ceiling. So I just want to acknowledge that real quick. But as far as the future, I mean, the first words that came into my mind were ⁓ a hundred percent inclusion and equality. I think that you know, women bring so much to the services. We, I guess I can still include myself since I'm still engaged a lot with the Coast Guard. We need to rise up. Looking forward for 50 years, I hope that at the next milestone at the 100 year mark, they look back and say, wow, we finally figured it out. We finally made the changes that are giving everybody an equal shot and we're including every one of them. And the other the other piece is that not only make it about women, but also just about the workforce. I think it's important in the next fifty years to see each person as an individual and what that individual can contribute to the larger team. And when we start doing that, we will realize how much more effective we can be rather than trying to make everybody conform to one standard. If we I'm not saying we don't have we need standard, we need standards. That's absolutely true. But I'm just saying that each person brings something unique to the table. And if we are able to vie to see that and draw that out and really capitalize on it, it's it's gonna be amazing. And that that's regardless of gender.

speaker-0: Yeah. It will be amazing. And I'm I'm very hopeful. Patti, again, thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate your time and your insight and your stories. And I hope this isn't the last time we chat.

speaker-1: Yeah. Thank you so much. And thank you for doing this. This is so important.

speaker-0: Thank yes. All right. Bye. Before we wrap up, we'd like to take a moment to recognize someone who helped make another person's journey possible. As part of 50 Years of HerStory, we're inviting alumni to share a moment of gratitude. A chance to thank the classmates, mentors, instructors, coaches, family members, and friends whose support made a lasting difference. Here's this episode's moment of gratitude. ⁓

speaker-1: Bye. Amy Baribeau from the class of 1992. ⁓ I would like to shout out ⁓ Dr. Bob ⁓ the of the Glee Club and the Icebreakers. ⁓ and I really want to shout him out because Doc created ⁓ a space for us to be ourselves. I blew out my knee. ⁓ My swab summer. I couldn't play sports. ⁓ I was labeled a no-foe ranger. ⁓ I was having a really, really tough time. Nobody believed that I was actually hurt. ⁓ and the only thing I could do to escape was singing and glee club. And I On most weekends when I was supposed to be restricted, I was I said I couldn't stay in the barracks because I had gigs to sing in New York City or something like that. But ⁓ the friendships I made and the fact that Doc was there and just let us be ourselves and just he is the he And the icebreakers are really the reason that I stayed at the academy. And did it matter? I went on to a 25 year career and retired as a captain in 2017. And that would have never happened without him. So he is my first shout out and ⁓ definitely worthy of the honor and shout out that we gave him last night. My shout out would be to Mr. and Mrs. Thil, Ty and Nancy Thil, affectionately known as Mr. and Mrs. T, who signed up to be the sponsor family for one, maybe two cadets. And I think by the time all was said and done over the years, they probably had at least 20, if not more. And we just kept bringing more and more people over. And if they weren't dropping off just little reminders that they were thinking about us, goody bags or whatever, they were there to pick us up in the drop of a hat and take us to their house and just let us lay all over their house and eat their food and hang out with their kids and just again a place to be and be there for us. She was even the one that picked me up and took me to my knee surgery in ⁓ in at the naval sub base and then pick me up. so without them I wouldn't have graduated. So I am full of gratitude and just wanted to say thank you.

speaker-0: Thank you for listening to this episode of 50 Years of HerStory. ⁓ story is a reminder that leadership doesn't always begin with rank or position. ⁓ it starts with something much simpler: ⁓ when someone is struggling, ⁓ to speak up, ⁓ showing up for the people around you. ⁓ we reflect on 50 Years of Women at the Coast Guard Academy, stories Patti's remind us that progress isn't meant to be measured in milestones. ⁓ It's in the people who continue to push the service forward. If you enjoyed this episode, sure to follow 50 Years of HerStory on your favorite podcast platform, and share with someone who might enjoy these stories too. ⁓ I'm Nicolle ⁓ Thank you listening. ⁓