I’m Diego Bey and for my senior project, I will be interning at Hudson River Community Sailing. Back in the summer of 2017, I had my first interaction with Hudson River Community Sailing in the form of a sailing summer camp. Having enjoyed it so much that year I went back again the next two summers, and became very close with a few of the faculty. I also became very proficient at sailing as well. By my third year, I was well beyond most of my peers who were often beginners or had only sailed a few times before, meaning I wasn’t often able to practice more advanced maneuvers as no one else was ready for them. My learning basically plateaued. Then the year after that I asked if I could possibly have the opportunity to work at HRCS as I felt it would be a better use of my time over the summer, and actually give me the opportunity to get better at sailing. So for the last two summers, I have worked there teaching sailing. When I heard the requirements for a Senior 

project there were three main things that I wanted my project to be: One, serious. I wanted my project to be something that would be in a more serious working environment that emphasized my independence and was a large-scale project I could complete entirely on my own. Two: I wanted my project to be hands-on. I wanted a project where I am doing things and going places, not one where I’m just stuck at home on the computer. And finally three: I wanted my project to be a unique experience that I probably won’t get the chance to experience at other points in my academic career. And when I considered my options, continuing my internship at HRCS seemed to fill all of these goals. 

I will be working for the HRCS Operations division and will be prepping their sailing fleet to be returned to the water at the start of the sailing season. This will entail many forms of maintenance including hull repair, sanding, repainting, cleaning, engine maintenance, repair, restocking, and launching the boats. This will fulfill all of the goals I have for the project, it will be hands-on as I will be doing physical labor for the entire duration, and it will put me in a working environment where I will have a schedule to adhere to. It is also a very niche experience I probably won’t get the chance to do at any other point in the foreseeable future. It will be academic as I will have to learn all about the boat in order to properly repair it, but it will definitely be experiential as I won’t only get the experience of fixing boats, I will also get experience working a job in terms of scheduling. I will be working 25 hours a week working from 10-6 in the Bronx and City Island in April, and in Chelsea in May conditioning the boats as they go from being wrapped up in a warehouse to fully functioning and back on the water over the course of the month. By the end of the project, I hope to have a strong understanding of all of the parts of the boat, how to repair them, the process of readying a boat for the water from start to finish, as well as experience with workplace expectations and managing my own schedule. While doing this project I will also be continuing my work in the x-block Eye to Eye as my service part of the project. For all of these reasons, I believe this will be a great experience that fits all of my criteria, as well as being an opportunity I will probably not have at any other time in my life.