BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Vukasin Petrovic of the St. Francis College Brooklyn Athletics Communications Office recently published a story on former Terriers’ men’s water polo and swimming standout Jonas Veazey ’19 who joined the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps.
The story by Petrovic follows:
Next in line of exemplary St. Francis College Brooklyn former student-athletes is Jonas Veazey ’19, former captain of the men’s water polo team and member of the men’s swimming & diving team. Jonas was recently accepted into the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps, and as someone whom I knew to be passionate about the environment and saving our planet – he is a perfect fit.
The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps is one of America’s seven uniformed services. Founded in 1970, NOAA was created to develop a coordinated approach to oceanographic, atmospheric, and fisheries research. NOAA Officers operate ships, fly aircrafts, manage research projects, and conduct diving operations, among the many things that they do.
“There are different things that NOAA does. Everything from the protection of ecosystems and mapping out coastlines for safer passage,” Jonas said.
Jonas explained to me that our knowledge of the ocean floor is minimal. There is a necessity to reveal the unknown, collect data, ensure the environment is protected as much as the passengers.
“NOAA Officers actually navigate and drive ships while collecting data. There are ships that track whales and do whale research. On other ships, NOAA Officers’ are there to ensure that the ship safely gets to its destination. There is a variety of what you do as a NOAA Officer, and that is what I find exciting,” he explained.
Although always passionate about the protection of the environment, Jonas was unsure in what way his skills can contribute. As an SFC graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry, he was struggling to find his place and ways in which he wanted to help to fight climate change.
“I got into it because of said variety. I want to see who I can meet and what I can do. These are some of the top research ships in the country. I want to be a part of that,” Jonas said.
Jonas emphasized the importance of NOAA Corps research. He taught me that schools in California, for example, often can’t fund their research.
“Most schools, unless they are for marine science, don’t have access to do that type of research. Therefore, a lot of the research that some of the schools do comes from NOAA. I want to be involved in that during my life, at least for now.”
Jonas has always been an exemplary student, passionate about ecology and climate change. He informed me that NOAA launched an unprecedented mission (in 2020) in which he will be involved in next year.
“The mission will be to fulfill the data on “black holes” in the ocean. There are parts of the ocean that we know nothing about. I recently read about a ship that updated the information around the coast of India. The data that came from there was unreliable, climate-wise. It was necessary to update and maintain it, make sure that we have the correct information to ensure safer passages but also to be able to predict our future regarding the climate more accurately,” Jonas said.
Jonas got into it by accident, he says. His dad Jeff attended a convention on Earth Day in Dallas, where he met a NOAA Officer. As he was aware of his son’s aspirations and passions, he approached the Officer to get some information. He liked what he heard as she was giving a presentation on coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. There is a proposal to expand it, and this was in line with Jonas’ visions of protecting our nature. Once he was informed about it, Jonas decided to apply.
“You have to have a Bachelor’s Degree in science, math, or engineering. It is similar to a college application,” Jonas said. “You write some essays and explain where your passions lie. You get recommendation letters. I got mine from Bora Dimitrov (men’s water polo Head Coach), Carl Quigley (former Assistant Director of Athletics), Professor Davidson, and other Professors. All the people who recommended me were SFC people. Then you have an interview with an Officer,” Jonas said with a laugh.
What’s funny? The fact that the person who interviewed him was the Officer his father Jeff met on Earth Day.
Jonas graduated from SFC and went on to do what he can to help our environment. Jonas admitted that, even with such a noble cause, SFC and our small community managed to help him in more ways than just providing the recommendations.
“I would like to say thank you to all the people at SFC. Throughout my undergrad experience, I learned a lot of valuable skills that will help me moving forward. I believe that, as a team captain, I learned how to be an effective leader. I learned how to manage myself, but also how to push both myself and other people. This skill will surely help me on the boat one day,” Jonas concludes.
After all of it, Jonas believes that people don’t understand the effects climate change will have. He is passionate about it and wants people to know that some estimates claim that there will be more climate refugees than there are war refugees. He wants people to know that our life is going to become harder, days hotter, water levels higher. And he wants to do whatever he can to fight it.
