Chesapeake Native receives certificate of appreciation serving at Norfolk Navy Shipyard

by Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs

Mr. Jerrod Smith receives a certificate of apprenticeship
from Norfolk Naval Shipyard Commander Capt. Scott Brown

(PORTSMOUTH, Va.) - A 2003 Western Branch High School graduate and Chesapeake, Virginia native, recently received the outstanding apprentice award from the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Apprentice Program.

Mr. Jerrod Smith was one of 103 honor graduates and also received the outstanding apprentice award presented by the National Association of Superintendent at Willet Hall in Portsmouth, Virginia.

NNSY congratulated 180 graduates from its program. The graduates, represent 25 trades across the shipyard, and successfully completed a four-year training program, which includes academics, trade theory and on-the-job experience. Upon graduation, the apprentices received a Technician Career Studies Certificate and were converted to the journeymen level of their trade.  

Smith is a boat builder and plastic fabricator for NNSY and has family members who have served in the military. He's worked for the Department of Defense for four years and has carried lessons learned from his hometown.

"I learned to trust no one and to question everything," he said.