Jesse Hawthorne Story:
A Navy Nuclear Trained Electricians Mate, First Class Petty Officer (E-6) with over 9 years of experience in the areas of aircraft carrier electrical distribution and casualty control operations. A fully qualified load dispatcher on board USS George W.H. Bush (CVN-77) home ported out of Norfolk, Virginia who controlled the electric plant remotely via JOCELN (SCADA), and locally at the associated switchboard operating stations. He also maintained various switchboards, steam turbine generators, diesel generators, and their associated equipment. Additionally, he supervised and directed a team of technicians safely and continuously to provide reliable sources of electrical power to the ships 4160V, 72 Megawatt, 12-generator electrical distribution system. He also oversaw and performed the paralleling of switching operations onboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with proprietary software analogous to SCADA in support of mission critical transmission operations as well as regulating voltage and frequency for turbine and diesel generators to maintain operational specifications.
His journey with Power4Vets first started when he was introduced to the program by his peers at work and he enrolled into the program in April 2019 and he completed all of the Power System Operation courses by October 2019. He also used Navy Cool as a means to pay for his NERC exam fees and he passed the NERC Reliability Coordinator Certification exam in November 2019. Jesse currently works for PPL in Allentown, PA as a Transmission System Operator and we are excited to see him fulfill his dream of becoming a NERC Certified System Operator and believing in the Power4Vets program to help him achieve this goal.
We are super proud of Jesse’s achievements and we are thankful that he trusted in the program and in our transition plan for him to help him further his career after his military commitment to the country and the Navy has come to a close.
Words from Jesse Hawthorne
I can’t speak highly enough about the Power4Vets program. It really is the whole package. The training modules and simulations start with the basics, but by the end I felt confident even in the more complex scenarios. I had no issues passing my NERC exam, despite never physically sitting behind a civilian control panel. In my opinion, the Power4Vets career placement service was one of the most valuable aspects of the program. David Miranda walked me through every step of the job search and hiring process, from resume prep all the way to last minute interview practice. Not to mention his behind the scenes work got my resume to the top of the list with almost every employer. I was able to land my dream job after only one in-person interview. I would recommend this program to any transitioning veteran in a technical field. It’s an investment that pays for itself, and then some.