Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
The Dalles graduate
strives for space
Insitu layoffs
influenced by
drawback from
Afghanistan
Jacob Bertram
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
For Paulina Finn, her love
of space started with Legos
and Star Trek when she was a
kid. That fascination with the
final frontier has carried on
through her life, leading to
her acceptance of admission
at the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Md., where she
plans to major in aerospace
engineering — with a goal of
exploring the great beyond.
With a determined mind-
set — adopted out of inspira-
tion from her father Michael,
a retired U.S. Navy vet, and
mother Flavia, an immi-
grant from Chile — Finn has
dedicated her school life to
achieving academic suc-
cess, first at The Dalles High
School, where she graduated
in 2018 with honors, and
later at Umpqua Community
College in Roseburg, Ore.,
earning her an associate
degree in engineering.
While she knew she
wanted to join the U.S.
Navy to further her goal of
becoming one of the few
people to enter space, she
first decided to enlist in the
delayed entry program. After
seeing how things worked,
she decided that “I had more
in me. I could do more. So I
felt, for me, the right thing to
do was apply for the Naval
Academy,” which offers those
interested in doing what it
takes to become an astronaut
a better pathway to achieving
that goal, Finn said.
Finn, having found out
about her acceptance to the
prestigious academy, will en-
ter the class of 2025 starting
this fall. Before that she will
be participating in what is
known as “Plebe Summer”
— a six-week orientation
intends to prepare new re-
cruits for the challenges that
lay ahead.
“During this time, plebes
have no access to television,
movies, the internet, or
music, and restricted access
to cell phones. They are only
permitted to make three
calls during the six weeks of
Plebe Summer,” a U.S. Naval
Academy press release said.
“As the summer progress-
es, the new midshipmen
rapidly assimilate basic skills
in seamanship, navigation,
damage control, sailing, and
handling yard patrol craft.
Plebes also learn infantry
drill and how to shoot 9 mm
pistols and M-16 rifles,” the
press release said. “Other
daily training sessions
involve moral, mental, phys-
ical, or professional devel-
opment and team-building
skills. Activities include
swimming, martial arts,
basic rock climbing, obstacle,
(and) endurance and con-
fidence courses designed to
By Jacob Bertram
■ Columbia
Gorge News
Paulina Finn is pursuing her fascination with space at the U.S. Naval Academy.
develop physical mental and
team-building skills. Forty
hours are devoted to the in-
struction of infantry drill and
five formal parades.”
To get to Annapolis, Finn
said people close to her sup-
ported her throughout her
journey. She credits her time
with the basketball team
at Umpqua Community
College as having built up
her confidence and pushed
her mentally and physically.
Especially at the directive of
Head Coach Dave Stricklin,
Finn said his method of
“breaking you down and
building you up” gave her a
mental breakthrough and
gave her the confidence to
strive to achieve her goals.
By the time she received
her associate degree from
UCC, Finn had begun
thinking about applying to
the academy. But it hadn’t
yet become a reality. So it
was a fortunate circumstance
that Finn, while working
as a waitress at Momma
Jane’s Pancake House in The
Dalles, started up a conver-
sation on her goals with a
customer whose relative had
graduated from the military
academy. The customer
gave her the contact info for
John Bickford, USNA class
of ’71 — and while Finn held
onto his email, after deep
consideration, she reached
out to him.
Bickford prepared her
for the application process,
walking her through the ins
and outs of the process, and
giving her words of encour-
agement that built upon her
foundation of confidence
she had received growing
through coaches and her
parents. He also gave Finn
a tour of the campus — a
crucial step in her journey,
which showed her that
admittance was attainable
for her.
Bickford coached Finn on
what to expect as a midship-
man attending the academy,
and also guided her through
all the hoops she had to jump
through — between asking
for references, submitting
to interviews, and applying
for nominations, Finn said
she “felt honored” when she
first heard the news of her
acceptance last month.
“I was proud to have
been able to help Paulina
achieve her lifelong dream,
an appointment to USNA,”
Bickford said in an email.
“Her motivation was inspi-
rational: She kept on trying
in spite of running into dead
ends and roadblocks many
times during her application
process. Her qualifications
are superb, and I expect
her to do quite well at the
academy. Her entering
USNA will greatly benefit that
institution, the Navy, and our
Contributed photo
country. I look forward to
following her career through
USNA and beyond.”
Beyond Bickford and her
basketball coach, she cited
her mother as her main
source of confidence and
inspiration that led her to
acknowledge that anything is
possible. At a single moment
of doubt, it was Flavia who
told her daughter to keep go-
ing and to continue working
towards her goal.
Finn expressed confidence
that she is going to make it
to space, and the academy is
the best route for her to take
to achieve it. To her, space is
“more than meets the eye.”
It’s an exciting time for
space travel, too. With major
companies preparing for pri-
vate travel in the near future
and with the advent of the
reusable rocket, she said she
sees an exciting opportunity
to be a part of the search for
life on Mars, and to explore
what lies beyond our current
knowledge of space.
“It’s not just fiction for me,
it’s a reality that’s not here
yet,” she said.
Finn left this one last piece
of advice for anyone consid-
ering applying to a military
academy.
“The majority of the
application is believing in
yourself,” she said. “The more
you believe in that, the more
you can make it happen.”
Influenced by the im-
pending drawback from
Afghanistan, Bingen-based
drone manufacturer Insitu
announced voluntary lay-
offs on June 8.
Insitu Spokesperson
Jennifer Beloy did not pro-
vide a specific number of
employees who volunteered
for the downsizing by press
deadline but noted the
reductions in force targeted
Field Service Representative
positions, occupied by the
employees tasked with sup-
porting Insitu customers in
the areas where the drones
are deployed.
Because Field Service
Representatives are em-
ployees who work in those
service areas, most notably
in Afghanistan, Beloy said
most of the employees
terminated do not reside in
the Columbia Gorge since
they do not need to report
to Insitu facilities.
“In terms of impacts to
the Gorge, it’s not really sig-
nificant. People who chose
to take layoff packages …
don’t really live here,” Beloy
said on Friday.
Roughly 700 Insitu
employees reside in the
Columbia Gorge, Beloy said,
confirming that no addi-
tional layoffs are planned at
this time.
Insitu had been prepar-
ing for the moment when
operations would subside
in Afghanistan, Beloy said,
and “just like any business,
we’re just adjusting what
our needs are to support our
customer base.”
The drone manufactur-
ing company, which is a
subsidiary of Boeing, serves
30 customers globally,
primarily through their
manufacturing of the RQ-21
BlackJack and ScanEagle
drones and support to those
customers, most commonly
domestic and international
military agencies. In this
transitionary period through
the COVID-19 pandemic and
post-Afghanistan, Beloy said
the company is refocusing its
sights and restructuring its
workforce.
The COVID-19 pandemic
shuttered most in-person
work at the company’s
various facilities, and while
management recently an-
nounced a process to return
to in-person work, Beloy said
the company is being “very
flexible” with the transition.
The company is also
preparing for an upcom-
ing demonstration to six
countries at ArcticX, a live
exhibition featuring the latest
innovations in satellite imag-
ing and analytics at Andoya
Space Center in Northern
Norway.
Insitu is teaming up
with The Hood Technology
Corporation, a Hood
River-based drone support
company, by bringing to the
demonstration, along with
Insitu products, the Alticam
14 payload, which provides
intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance services
through a high resolution,
enhanced telescope and
laser designation targeting
capabilities.
Despite the closure of
one facility last year, which
Beloy said had been planned
prior to the pandemic, as
well as the closure of their
workforce housing program
(the company now instead
offers housing stipends to
employees), Beloy affirmed
that “Insitu is not leaving the
Gorge.
“Most of our employees
live and work here and care
about the community,” Beloy
said. And the company puts
in work to ensure it supports
the community-driven mind-
set, through volunteer work
and a donation-match sys-
tem run by Boeing, which has
provided more than $100,000
to charitable organizations
in the community since the
start of the year.
NOW OPEN
FOR DINING
Homemade specialties by
Chef Joe Kosarek
Enjoy this one-of-a-kind
artisan experience in
The Dalles.
Open Wed-Sun. 4-9 pm
541-296-5666
www.baldwinsaloon.com
TRASH TALK
Q. Is there a place where can I take old
QA
computers, VCR’s and other electronics for recycling?
Jared, The Dalles
A. Jared, I don’t’ know of any local options for VCR
or stereo recycling. You do have an option in our area for
“e-waste” though. The Oregon Electronics Recycling Program
(E-Cycles) accepts seven items for free: computer monitors
and towers, T.V.s, laptops, printers, keyboards and mice. Three
drop sites: Hood River Transfer Station, The Dalles Disposal,
and Sherman County Transfer Station near Biggs Junction.
questions to:
(541)-506-2636 www.tricountyrecycle.com
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