Four women stand around a man in a military uniform in front of a ship.

NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumna, Beth Lancaster, Attends NOAA Ship Commissioning

NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumna, Beth Lancaster, Attends NOAA Ship Commissioning

19 Jun, 2012

Beth Lancaster, a 2008 NOAA Teacher at Sea Alumna, attended the commissioning of a state-of-the-art coastal mapping vessel, NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler, during a special ceremony at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic in Norfolk, VA on June 8, 2012.

Beth led a team of four tenth-grade students at Naugatuck High School in Naugatuck, Connecticut, who won the “Name NOAA’s New Ship” regional contest with the name “Ferdinand R. Hassler.” This contest was open to all middle and high schools in their respective regions of New England and the West Coast.  

The students wrote an essay that supported their selection of a ship name. The NOAA contest was designed to encourage students to learn more about the science behind the marine and coastal resources in their regions. Michelina Cioffi, one of Beth’s former students who participated in the contest, also attended the ceremony. 

Four women stand around a man in a military uniform in front of a ship.
(Left to right - Michelina Cioffi, Beth Lancaster, NOAA Lt. Cmdr. Ben Evans, Jenn Annetta, and Elizabeth Bullock)

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