Four naval architecture students from the University of Michigan spent four days at Newport News Shipbuilding last week, taking part in hands-on experiences with aircraft carrier and submarine construction.

University of Michigan freshman Yaneli Gonzalez, sophomores Thomas Brown and Nick O’Donnell and graduate student Hal Berdichesky were able to visit NNS thanks to the work of Scott Opdyke (E42), a Michigan alum and 20-year shipbuilder. His goal was to revitalize a relationship between the university and NNS that has faded over the last 15 years.

“I spent the month of January fiercely trying to organize four days of tours,” Opdyke said. “Mostly I just reached out to people I’ve worked with in the past and if they couldn’t do it, they were more than willing to point me in the direction of someone else who was available. It wasn’t just me, it was really a team effort from the shipyard to put this together.”

Each student cited a different reason for their interest in naval architecture and marine engineering.

O’Donnell is the son of a sailor. “My dad went to the United States Naval Academy and played football. I grew up around Navy culture and learned my values from him, so I definitely have a tie with defense and what they do,” he said.

Berdichesky originally went to Michigan intending to study history. He had an interest in the maritime field, but saw the opportunity to get involved in the current maritime environment. Once he realized he could handle the math, he asked himself, “Do I want to be talking about what was, or be a part of what is?”

One key takeaway for Brown was the chance to see aircraft carriers at various points in their lives. “We went on Enterprise (CVN 80), which is still being built, and then also USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), which is being overhauled. John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is almost done. Seeing a ship in those different stages of construction is mind-boggling.”

Gonzalez is taking her observations about process and procedure back to her class that is building an underwater remote-operated vehicle. “A lot of the things I’ve learned so far, like building things in sections, teamwork and project planning, I’m going to take these things back and incorporate them.”

Opdyke said, “If you look at naval architecture across the country, it’s a very small community. It’s sometimes really hard to attract talent.”

Developing the talent pipeline is the key motivator driving Opdyke to re-establish the relationship between his alma mater and NNS.

“For the students, they get to see stuff now that they’ll experience in a year or two and say ‘I remember seeing that at Newport News,’” he said.