Throw a stone near the coast anywhere in the world, some say, and it's likely to land next to a Williams-Mystic alum. With more than 100 schools represented in our alumni body, and students from all over the United States and abroad, the Williams-Mystic connection is a far-reaching one.

We often joke in Mystic that alumni just can't seem to leave Mystic. They come back to visit us (and we love seeing them!), to conduct research, to visit and to work at Mystic Seaport or even for us at Williams-Mystic. This place leaves its mark on those who experience it.

The alumni community is a tremendous networking resource for making professional connections in nearly any field, getting advice about potential jobs or career paths, and finding a friendly Williams-Mystic face if you move to a new city.

But what direction do you go after such a semester? For some, Williams-Mystic is a personal and academic journey that is unique in their college experience, and indeed, in their life. For others, Williams-Mystic is the beginning of a career promoting, protecting, and exploring the world's oceans. The thread that binds is the feeling that Williams-Mystic is something extraordinary, something that provides lifetime guideposts for thinking

Here are a few marine-related positions that our alumni hold. Other alums simply gain a great appreciation for the world's oceans during their Williams-Mystic experience.

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT and FISHERIES

• Director, Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association
• Commercial fisherman
• Essential Fish Habitat Coordinator, NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service
• Habitat Specialist, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
• Director of Operations, Icebrand Seafoods

US GOVERNMENT SCIENCE and ENVIRONMENT OFFICIALS

• Ph.D., Assistant Program Director, Biological Oceanography Program, Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science Foundation
• Ph.D., Coastal Geologist, National Park Service
• Outdoor Recreation Planner, Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge managing 38 offshore islands on the Maine coast for nesting seabirds

MARINE POLICY, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW and ADMIRALTY LAW

• Consultant, Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation
• Fisheries Economist for the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
• Sea Grant Fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Coordinator, Maryland Clean Marina Initiative
• Attorney/Partner, Preston Gates & Ellis, focusing on environmental issues
• Public Policy Scientist, Smith College
• Director of Land Protection, Maine Chapter of the Nature Conservancy

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CAREERS

• Project Manager for the City of San Francisco. Former Member of the Board of Directors of Greenpeace.
• President, Piedmont Environmental Council, protecting rural lands
• Land Protection Specialist, Nature Conservancy
• Ocean Governance Program Manager, Center for Marine Conservation
• National Field Director, Sierra Club Global Warming Campaign
• Office of Long Island Sound Programs, Department of Environmental Protection
• Coastal Geologist, MA office of coastal Zone Management

NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY and NAVAL ARCHITECTURE

• Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Naval Architecture, U.S. Naval Academy
• Ph.D., Sara W. and George O. Yamini Faculty Fellow in Nautical Archaeology

MARINE SCIENCE

• Ph.D., Marine molecular ecologist, American Museum of Natural History
• M.S., Fisheries Biologist, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
• Environmental Consultant
• Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Pittsburgh
• Ph.D., Geomorphology, Geology Professor, University of Vermont
• Ph.D., Biological Sciences Department, Stanford, Hopkins Marine Station
• California Science Center in the exhibit development department, researching a large ecology exhibit

MUSEUMS

• Vice President for Education and Public Programs, Mystic Seaport
• Exhibitions Curator and Collections Manager, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
• Head Curator, Mitchell House at the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association
• Deputy Director, U.S.S. Constitution Museum
• Curator of Science and Technology, Louisiana State Museum
• Curator of Prints and Paintings at Winterthur Museum
• Director, Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

U. S. MARITIME CAREERS: NAVY, ARMY CORPS and NOAA

• Chief Mate, United States Army Corps of Engineers Hopper Dredge M/V Stuyvesant
• Navigation and Safety Officer, NOAA Corps, NOAA ship Townsend Cromwell
• Navigation Officer, Research Vessel Rude
• Business Financial Manager, Office of Naval Reserves

EDUCATION and TEACHERS

• Chair of Dept of Geology and Geography, Ohio Wesleyan
• Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government
• Chair of Science Department at Lawrenceville School
• Instructor, Tabor Academy and Director of Tabor Academy Sailing Program
• Co-Founder of Salish Sea Expeditions, a Puget Sound education program