Always Ready: Trine grad following call to serve in Coast Guard

Quinn O’Brien enjoyed working as a bridge engineer after graduating from Trine University, but knew his destiny was elsewhere.

“Both grandparents and my father served in the Army, and I always had an interest in the military when I was growing up,” he said. “I always knew I would regret it if I never made the decision to serve.”

After researching different branches and hearing from veterans, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard.

“What really drew me toward the Coast Guard was the mission of protecting the U.S. at home, the fact that the Coast Guard is doing their mission every day, and the do-more-with-less mentality,” he said. “There is a lot of responsibility as well as opportunity that you inherit early on in the Coast Guard.”

He is currently a seaman working on a buoy tender in Portsmouth, Virginia.

“We service hundreds of buoys in the Chesapeake Bay. I work on the Deck department helping to service the buoys when we go underway and keep the ship clean and in good working order,” he said.

“It’s hard, honest work, but it’s really rewarding knowing that we are impacting the surrounding waters. Millions of tons of cargo on ships come through the nearby ports. They wouldn’t be able to safely navigate without the work we do.”

He plans to attend A school later this year and graduate as a Maritime Enforcement Specialist (ME). From there, he hopes to get into some of the more specialized units in the Coast Guard performing counter-narcotic and counter-terrorism law enforcement.

“I plan on serving for 20 years,” he said. “After that I do not know what I’ll do. For now, I’m just focused on the next step in the path.”

Quinn decided to study civil engineering at Trine after talking with his uncle, who works closely with structural engineers.

“He was describing all the amazing things they are able to accomplish on a daily basis,” he said. “I was fascinated just listening to him and knew I wanted to pursue a degree related to structural engineering.”

He still relies on the life skills he learned at Trine in the Coast Guard.

“Critical thinking is a must when we are working difficult scenarios with heavy machinery,” he said. “The most important skill I learned at Trine was how to learn. There is a ton of material to read and a lot of qualifications you are required to get when arriving at your first unit. My time at Trine helped me develop the skills to learn quickly and effectively and translate that knowledge into my everyday work.”