Emergency Management News

April 25, 2024 - Thursday-  Today marked the fourth day of our working experience here in Guatemala. We had breakfast at Violetta’s, which consisted of an omelet, watermelon, and black berries. Violetta is a very generous lady who always makes sure we are full before we leave. After breakfast we separated back into our groups and headed off to our respective work sites.

My Group, Group 3 headed off to San Antonio. Today we were lucky enough to receive a ride from Professor Cadwalader and Captain Lennon. For this day our task was to chop wood. At first we only had small tools, but eventually found axes which made the job easier. The reason we are splitting wood is to use the materials to create furniture for the San Antonio school.

Group 2 was at a local Mayan village called Santa Maria de Jesus. Today they helped retile the floor of a classroom in the local school. They also finished up painting one of the schools railing on their ladder well. The group had a great time hanging out with the students as well as the work they completed.

Group 1 at Brillo de Sol had been tasked with building a fence for a garden, planting trees, and pulling weeds. Group 1 got the pleasure of eating authentic Guatemalan oranges, which are apparently green. The feedback we received was that they tasted great.

After work we headed back to Violeta’s for lunch. Lunch was excellent, we had pasta and fried hamburger patties. With a full stomach we headed to Spanish class and were ready to learn. Everyone in the group seems to be making great progress with their understanding of Spanish.
After our evening meeting, three members of our group climbed the "Cerro de la Cruz" (Hill of the Cross) that marks the north side of Antigua. The hill offers a spectacular view of the city and the dormant Volcan Agua.

The rest of us went our separate ways to get dinner. Within Guatemala there are deals on dinner, so whenever we find a two for one special we try our best to save a little extra money.

Overall it was another successful day in Guatemala.  2/C Hunt, Ryan

April 24, 2024: Day 8: We went to breakfast at Violetta’s at 0700. Breakfast today was delicious French toast topped with papaya and banana and some optional orange juice. Each group worked from 0800 to 1200 and then went to our Spanish lessons from1330 to 1630.
We broke up into our three groups and left for work right after breakfast. My group, group 1, set off in the chicken bus to Brillo de Sol to meet Captain Lennon, Smitty and Professor Cadwalader. So far, the work here has consisted of unpacking and reorganizing all of the storage units. Professor Lennon and DJ began working on fixing the roof of one of the units while the rest of us put together shelving units and organized all of the school supplies and much more into bags and bins. Group two continued their work on laying tiles in the school in Santa Maria de Jesus and painting while group three painted walls and moved a bunch of school equipment in San Antonio.
After work we headed to Violetta’s for lunch which consisted of chicken, carrots, rice, and potatoes.
Then we headed back to the hostel to prepare for Spanish class. At class, we broke out with our teachers and continued working on increasing our knowledge of the language. Many of us played games like Scrabble, memory and matching to keep the learning fun.
We ended the night by separating into a few groups. One group went out for burgers while a group of us went to the market to get some ingredients for a homemade pasta dinner. I was in charge of the sauce, Jenny made a killer guacamole, Shayla made delicious garlic bread and Matilda did a great job with the pasta! After dinner we socialized with a few newcomers to the hostel and just enjoyed each other's company.  1/C Victoria Boss

April 23, 2024: Day 7:  Today was our second day working and taking Spanish classes. At 0700,
we started the day at Violetta's for some delicious waffles and fruits for breakfast.
After breakfast was over, my group (Group 2) took a chicken bus up to Santa Maria de Jesus to work at the school. Today, we focused on sanding and painting the staircases and railings. In between working, we all got to play with the little niños (or children in Spanish) outside in their courtyard.

Group 1 returned to Brillo de Sol. Their job continued to focus on organizing the schoolyard. The school is for children with a wide and varied range of special needs, and it recently moved to a new facility. Because of this disruption, the premises are still in need of organization. Group 1 emptied and reorganized another storage shed and then started the process of waterproofing the shed roof in anticipation of the rainy season.

Group 3 returned to San Antonio on a chicken bus. They put concrete on the school's walls to prevent water damage, sealed off wooden furniture from water damage, and painted some more.

We all returned to lunch at Violetta's for some fantastic chicken and vegetables with soup on the side. Then, we had to get ready for our Spanish lesson. The first half of class was a one-on-one session with our instructors, and the second half was group work with other students and their instructors. Afterward, we had our group meeting to discuss the day's events, and then we all went out to Antigua to enjoy liberty and have dinner at various locations.

Today was a super successful day for all of us in the great country of Guatemala. Hasta Mañana!

April 22, 2024: Day 6: Day six was our first work day and our first day of Spanish classes. We went to breakfast at Violetta’s at 0700. Breakfast today was eggs with salsa, refried beans, ham, and plantains. The work day lasted from 0800 until 1200 and Spanish class took place from 1330-1630.
Following breakfast, we split into our groups, met our guides, and departed Antigua. My group, group 3, consisted of Zachary Bohnet, Christopher Ely, Ryan Hunt, and Alex Barbour. We caught a chicken bus to San Antonio and met some of the staff at the school where we would be working. Unfortunately, the project manager for this work site fell ill so we sealed and painted a bedroom for one of the women in the meantime. From our understanding, this worksite will be focused on preparing the school for the rainy season and some pest control.
Group 1 went to a school called Brillo de Sol. This group consisted of Victoria Boss, DJ Faivre, Reece Gannon, John Hagan, and Shayla Narodowg. At Brillo, the team cleaned out and organized a storage unit at a special needs school. They also brought nine bags of dirt to the site in preparation for the planting they will be doing tomorrow.
Finally, group 2 went to Santa Maria de Jesus to work at a school. This group consisted of Matilda Laux, Jacob Nutter, Will Tedstone, Jenny Verrilli, and Aidan Weir. They had two primary tasks today. Half of the team removed tiles while another group sanded and painted a staircase.
After work, we returned to Antigua and had lunch at Violetta’s which consisted of cucumber, mashed potatoes, and ham. Following lunch, we went to Spanish class. Each student was paired with a teacher based on our score on the Spanish pretest we took before this trip. We all learned the extent of our Spanish knowledge leading up to this experience for better or worse.
We ended the night with a team meeting after class and liberty from 1630 until 2100. Many students decided to explore the markets and other sites around town while some decided to take the evening to relax and do Spanish homework. Some students even tried a salsa dancing class at the Spanish school. We all tried new restaurants in town as this was the first night that we were able to choose our dinner and break into smaller groups.
Overall, today was a very eventful day and a good introduction to the remainder of our weekdays in Guatemala.

April 22, 2024: Day 5:  On day five, we woke up at 0730. We all then prepared for our day and had breakfast at Violetta’s Tienda. Breakfast consisted of local fresh fruit and a delicious breakfast burrito. An excellent thing about Guatemala is that you can not go wrong with the food. 

Today the team was given a free day to explore the city with others. DJ Faivre, Matilda Laux, Alex Barbour and Victoria Boss all went to the local open market. This is where thousands of vendors sell various products and nothing goes for the posted price. This group was extremely successful in learning bartering and were able to get shirts for less than half the price. The total per person was about $7 USD for 3 work shirts and $30 USD for two handcrafted mayan shirts. 

Jennifer Verilli, Reece Gannon, Shayla Narodowg, and Jacob Nutter went to Hobbitenango. This is a hobbit themed area with activities included. At this facility, there was a swing, axe throwing, mini golf, archery, and more. It’s a fun place for local families and tourists. Getting there is not for the faint of heart as It is a really steep road to take by shuttle. 

Aidan Weir, Luke Tedstone, Zack Bohnet and Chris Ely went shopping, had lunch at Violettas and explored the town of Antigua. They were also able to catch the Celtics vs. Miami Heat game at a local shop! The Celtics won!

Another great thing about Guatemala is the haircuts. Both DJ Faivre and Zack Bohnet were able to get haircuts that included a massage, shampooing and ear hair cleaning for way cheaper than a normal haircut in the United States.

The entire team then all came together and had dinner at Captain Lennon, Professor Cadwalader and Smitty’s home. This consisted of pasta, bread, soda and Guatemalan Oreos. All prepared by Celebrity Chef Lennon. He should really open an Italian restaurant in Buzzards Bay. We then discussed our work groups and our schedule for tomorrow.

After the delicious pasta dinner, the team headed back to the hostel and all enjoyed each other's company on the roof and watched some fireworks before heading to bed.

April 21, 2024:  Hola from Antigua Guatemala! Today’s weather was about 70 degrees and partly cloudy. Our 8:00 breakfast at Violetta’s consisted of pancakes and watermelon, with a choice of water, tea or coffee for our drink. We then took a bus ride to Iximche Park to see the Mayan ruins. This bus ride took about an hour and 30 minutes.  Upon arriving, we met Vinny, our amazing tour guide for the day, who had tons of experience with Mayan culture, customs, and language. He taught us what life was like for the Mayans before and after Spanish conquest. At the end of our tour, we participated in a Mayan Fire Ceremony, which is a powerful prayer that’s used to find clarity and manifest our well-beings as well as that of others. Learning about Mayan culture has helped prepare us for our work weeks which start on Monday. Our work sites are all located in areas with a high Mayan population, and we’re all looking forward to connecting what we learned with the people that we will be fortunate enough to work with. As the day came to an end, we ate dinner at Pollo Campero, visited the Santa Catalina Arch of Antigua, and enjoyed some helado (ice cream). We are all anticipating a wonderful trip, and look forward to continuing to provide updates! 

April 19, 2024: Day 3: This morning was our last day in the Quetzalroo hostel. We ate pancakes and fruits for breakfast and made our way to CONRED. CONRED stands for Coordinadora Nacional Para La Reducción De Desatres. In translation, that is national coordinator for disaster reduction. This is Guatemala’s version of what FEMA is in the U.S. We toured their facility and they showed us their EOC and the GIS system that they use with all their data. They also showed us a stockpile garage of all the resources they give out when a disaster strikes. 
Following our visit, we traveled about an hour and a half to Antigua where we’ll be staying for the majority of the trip. We checked into our new hostel, The Purpose Hostel and were greeted by our host, Tatianna. We ate lunch at Violeta’s tienda and had a bit of time to relax afterwards. Later, Professor Lennon gave us a quick tour of Antigua and gave us tips on where to get some good eats. For dinner, we ate at Tacorozon for burritos and tacos and then called it a night. Hasta Luego!

April 18, 2024: Day 2:  ¡Hola! Breakfast this morning was at 0615 before we made our way to the US Embassy in Guatemala City. The Embassy building is new and a state of the art facility. At the Embassy we were briefed by representatives from the State Department, USAID, HSI, and the DOD. The USAID briefing discussed their goals of preventing human suffering and making communities more resilient. They also talked about the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance which Professor Lennon described as very important for his International Relief class that we will take next year as seniors.

After the Embassy we made our way to the Mayan History Museum in Guatemala City. We were able to see close up artifacts from Mayan culture. This was to prepare us for the Mayan ruins that we will be traveling to this weekend. Pictures below: a group pic at the museum, El Jierto where we got some of the best coffee and cappuccino around, back to the hostel to relax and freshen up before heading back out for pizza tonight. It turned out to be a great day, our group is gelling well together! We are all excited to head to Antigua!

April 17, 2024: Hola from Guatemala City! Today was a day full of travel, going from Boston, to Miami, and eventually reaching our destination of Guatemala City. After around 6 hours of being miles above the earth and full of anticipation, we have finally touched down in Guatemala. A stress free travel day was a perfect start to our 25 day adventure in this new country. We got to our hostel at around 1930 local time (2 hours earlier than back home). After settling in for about an hour, we were served dinner: a taco salad full of local farm fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a breaded chicken and scrambled eggs. Our fantastic hostel host gave us a great run down of the recent election of Guatemala and the history of the country's coffee production, as well as the impacts of the civil war, which ended in 1997. The new president was a massive underdog, and part of a party that was not expected to win the election. He also told us about the troubles that are faced by the new president and how they plan to overcome it and create a better country for everyone. As the day comes to a close, we are all taking a couple minutes to relax and take in the beautiful weather on the open roof of the hostel. We are looking forward to a great trip, and keeping everyone updated!

April 3, 2024: The April edition of the EM Newsletter has been released! Read what our cadets have been up to!

April 2024 Emergency Management Newsletter

March 31, 2024: This past month, the IAEM Student Chapter toured two bunkers- MEMA HQ in Framingham and FEMA Region 1 in Maynard. Students met with agency representatives and learned about the history of each agency (including bunker history!).

March 7, 2024: Every spring, local police departments and law enforcement councils  prepare for the Boston Marathon by training with DHS's Surveillance Detection Course. On March 7th, 10 cadets role played as "suspicious persons" at Natick Mall, trying to avoid detection. 

March 8, 2024: The March EM Newsletter has been released. See below for important updates! 

March 2024 Emergency Management Newsletter

Tuesday, March 5: We have officially kicked off our tabletop exercise program! 1/C Jack Mulligan, 1/C Dane Carraccio, and 1/c Dimitri Georgoulopoulos facilitated a tabletop in the Town of Concord, where the town tested their response capabilities from heavy rain and flooding. For more information, check out the press release from the town. 

February 27, 2024: The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class graduated 50 cadets in the emergency management undergraduate program.  The cadets attended 6 weeks of training. The program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may occur where they live.  CERT also trains volunteers in basic disaster response skills, such as: fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
 Front row left to right:  1/C Ethan Rego, 1/C Jack Mulligan, Dr. Joseph Gordon, Major James Anglin, and MMA Emergency Management Department Chair Professor Thomas Lennon.

February 13, 2024: This month's EM newsletter has been released! Check out what the EM cadets have been up to!

February 2024 Emergency Management Newsletter

January 17, 2024: Congratulations to 2C Jenna Klemp! Jenna Klemp has been selected for a paid internship in the White House. Jenna will be working with the Executive Office of the President to fulfill critical emergency management functions. Jenna is the epitome of an aspiring emergency management professional and her hard work and dedication is now paying dividends. This is an amazing accomplishment that the faculty and staff are proud of. Congrats to 2C Jenna Klemp!