PHILADELPHIA (NNS) -- Capt. Mark Glover, program manager of the Navy's Communications and GPS Navigation Program Office (PMW/A 170), received the prestigious Stars and Stripes United States Navy Award, Feb. 19.
Glover accepted this honor in science, engineering, and technology management at the Stars and Stripes dinner during the 2016 Black Engineer of the Year Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Conference. Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michelle J. Howard presented the award.
Encouraging students to pursue STEM studies has been an emphasis across the nation in recent years, including through White House initiatives on the subject, and role models are often cited as a reason people choose these majors. Glover has been promoting STEM activities for several years.
A video he made on the topic at his former assignment as the commanding officer of Space and Naval Warfare Command Systems Center Atlantic is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2xefwPUtCw.
Glover's reasons to promote STEM learning are to help others and to see them reap the same benefits these subjects have created in his own life.
"I joined the Navy because I wanted to obtain education and training in a technical field," said Glover. "However, I did not have the resources to go to college. The Navy offered me technical training as a sonar technician. During my enlistment, I was lucky enough to earn an NROTC scholarship."
After completing his undergraduate studies at Norwich University, he went on to earn master's degrees in information technology management and computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Over the years, Glover had the opportunity to interact with many engineers and scientists.
"Because of my background, my heroes typically consist of people who have persevered against long odds or people who took great risks to make things better for others," Glover explained.
Keeping young people in mind is at the heart of all Glover does for the Navy, and he builds on the lessons he learned as an enlisted Sailor.
"When I work to deliver a capability to the fleet, I always remember my life as an enlisted sonar operator and technician," he said. "I want to make sure that whatever we deliver we continually take into account the impact on the Sailor."
He also advises young people not to wait for luck. They need to prepare themselves to take advantage of opportunities that come along.
"My advice to young STEM students is to reach out," he continued. "Reach out and get assistance, when needed; don't be ashamed or afraid to accept help, when offered. It is very difficult, or almost impossible to achieve great things without a helping hand from time to time. As a young person, time and time again, I was humbled by the people who helped me to succeed. Our young people should understand that people generally want to help. I believe that. And the great thing is that many of those people come from many varying backgrounds and races."
For more news from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/spawar/.