Serco's Deep Sea Program: Interns Making Waves
If the mark of a successful intern program is the number of students who choose to return after their first experience, then Serco's Deep Sea Associates program is knocking it out of the park. This summer, Serco welcomes back 13 associates who are returning to work with the U.S. Navy's Team Submarine. Serco's summer program places undergraduates at Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters in Washington, DC. The highly competitive internship is in its third year of placing students alongside Navy engineers, and cyber, acquisition, finance, and supply chain professionals.
"This is a great program," says Randy Chestang, who has spearheaded the Deep Sea Associates program since its inception in 2023. "The Navy loves it and the students love it." There were 25 associates last year and, at the Navy's request for more, Serco hired 30 college students to support Team Submarine this summer, Chestang says. "We give the students a relocation stipend and it's a paid internship," Chestang says. "They also earn a (security) clearance. We treat them like employees and they go through the same onboarding process as any Serco employee."
We caught up with three returning associates to find out what brought them back to Washington.
Why They Returned: Voices from the Program
For Bradford Smith, a finance major at Syracuse University in New York, it was an easy decision to spend another summer working at the Washington Navy Yard.
"I liked the people I was working with both at Serco and my program office at the Navy," said Smith, who is working with the finance group for Submarine Acoustic Systems, or PMS 401. "Everything was a learning experience and there were so many people to meet with all different backgrounds. It was a different kind of pace and perspective than most jobs in finance."
As a returnee, Smith was offered a promotion that he gladly accepted. "I was offered a team lead position which would certainly build on my team leading skills," he said. With more responsibility this summer, Smith hopes the position will help him develop managerial skills and sharpen his expertise in finance and accounting.
Maya Stephens, a business administration/MIS major at George Mason University, works at the program office for in-service attack submarines, or PMS 392, which oversees and manages submarine life cycle maintenance and modernization.
"I decided to keep working for the Navy because I value the work that I have been doing to support the Fleet," she says. "I personally work with ISSM (Information System Security Managers) for sub systems, and it has made me see the importance of our job providing cybersecurity solutions for their systems."
Stephens appreciates the opportunity to explore career opportunities with the Deep Sea Associates program that she had not previously considered.
"Honestly, I have always wanted to be in cybersecurity but this internship has changed how I want to work in cyber," she said. "I know that working in the government is what I want to do and it allows me to support the brave people that protect our nation."
Christopher Taylor, a computer science major at George Mason University, returns to work at the program office for Virginia Class Submarines, or PMS 450.
"I returned this summer because when working with/for the Navy I have found new interests that I have not had before. Whether it's learning about undersea weapons or about ship controls, everything I have been exposed to has made me more interested in the Navy," he said.
As Taylor wraps up his college career, he's considering how the summer program will help his job prospects.
"Looking at data analyst jobs is something that has come up on my radar as opposed to just software engineer or game design jobs and other computer science related jobs," he said. "Working with Serco/Navy has opened many new doors and opportunities for me to pursue and I am thankful for that. There was so much I didn't know and so much I still don't know, but working with the right people these past couple of years helped me enjoy my time here."
Interested in learning with Serco?
Serco's Deep Sea Associates program is for rising juniors and seniors in college majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), business, supply chain, and other areas. If you know someone who might be interested in becoming a Deep Sea Associate, contact Randy Chestang, Program Manager at Serco.
Written by:
Lalaine Estella, Protocol Analyst and Public Relations Specialist to the US Navy, Serco.