NEWPORT NEWS, Va., March 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) hosted commencement exercises Saturday to graduate 157 apprentices from the company's Apprentice School located at Newport News Shipbuilding. The graduation, held at the Liberty Baptist Church Worship Center in Hampton, also marked a milestone in graduating The Apprentice School's 10,000th graduate, Sara Ruggles.
Retired Adm. John C. Harvey Jr., Virginia's secretary of veterans and defense affairs, delivered the commencement address. He asked the graduates to commit to Newport News' mission of "Always Good Ships" "because young sailors will walk aboard the ships you will design and build, and they will bet their lives on the work that you will do."
"There is no one in any industry, anywhere in this great country, who makes a contribution to this nation's defense that is close to the contribution made by any of the great people working here at Huntington Ingalls building these great ships," Harvey said. "That is what this day is really about—how you will sustain that unique and all-important contribution as you continue your careers at Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding. Always good ships? That is a question I believe you must answer."
Of the 157 graduates, seven are military veterans. Sixty-seven completed an optional, advanced program (advanced shipyard operations, cost estimator, modeling and simulation program analyst, and nuclear test technician or production planner). Forty-six earned "honors," eight earned "high honors," and one earned "highest honors" under the Honors Program, which combines academic and craft grades to determine overall performance. Athletic awards were presented to 21 graduates, and 12 completed their required academics with perfect 4.0 grade point averages.
(From left) The Apprentice School Director Everett Jordan presented the school’s 10,000th graduate, Sara Ruggles, with a plaque to commemorate the milestone as Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt Mulherin and Newport News Shipbuilding Vice President of Trade Operations Ray Bagley joined other shipyard leadership in applause. Photo by John Whalen/HII.
