Ronald Raasch is the latest Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) graduate that has joined forces with United Alliance Services (UASC). He graduated from MMA with his Bachelor of Science in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection. After graduation, he went on to travel the world with Celebrity Cruises as their environmental officer, where he honed his safety skills in marine terminals, dry dock facilities, long shoring operations, shipboard operations, as well as well as waste management and waste water systems to name a few. UASC was lucky enough to welcome him to the team this year as a consultant and instructor. Now, we want to take a moment to congratulate him on completing his OSHA 501 General Industry Outreach Instructor certification. Nice job, Ron! He has already begun working as a consultant, and now he will be taking on instructor duties as well.
Ron is pictured here at the MMA Career Fair on April 9. He went back to his alma mater to recruit fellow cadets to join the United Alliance Services’ team. We offer MMA students internships that allow them to receive OSHA certifications as well as join our senior consultants in the field. We find that MMA students have the discipline and the background to make successful occupational health and safety professionals, and our internship program is engineered to give them the extra real-life experience they need to be successful after graduation.
Other successful MMA alumni on the UASC team include Megan Savage ’02, and Marc Bianco, ’93. Megan graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection, and is also a certified OSHA 501 General Industry Outreach Trainer. She is a consultant and instructor for UASC and conducts open enrollment OSHA trainings and also provides clients with OSHA compliance consulting and training.
Marc is our COO and EVP of Technical Services, he founded United Alliance Services with Valerie Wakefield, CEO/President and Erin Bishop, VP Business Development. Marc shaped the services we deliver to our clients, including the development of our entire curriculum in accordance with OSHA standards, and has helped his co-founders grow the company into the business it is today. Marc actively consults with clients on OSHA compliance and is a certified instructor for OSHA Outreach including General Industry, Construction, Emergency Operations, and is one of the only certified OSHA Outreach Maritime instructors in the Northeast.
Twice each year we attend the MMA career fair and meet new cadets who are ready to start planning for life after college. Every time we visit MMA there is a great new development within the school. Since 2011 MMA has completed $100M in construction projects and another $50M will be invested over the next few years. Some of the recent projects include the renovation of the Alumni Gymnasium, a second expansion of dormitories, the renovation of the former Hurley Library and the expansion of Admirals Hall.
In addition to expanding the schools’ facilities, MMA has one of two ship simulators in the world of its kind. The $2M simulator re-creates conditions that are all too real in my opinion, as I experienced some real-life seasickness after a simulation I attended last spring. The ship simulator, along with the training ship, T.S. Kennedy, provides MMA cadets with the type of training that employers like UASC and others are looking for.
UASC is also involved in the education of each new MMA cadet. Freshmen at the school complete a safety course taught by United Alliance Services. We designed the curriculum specifically to meet the needs of the academy. In addition to the standard freshman safety program, we offer cadets the ability to take a supplemental class through UASC that results in an OSHA 10 hour certification.
We are proud of our involvement with a quality state university like Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and are equally proud of the work that each of its alums on our team produces. The skills, training and experience Ron, Megan and Marc have enhance our clients’ experience and the quality of services we deliver.