WEBVTT

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- I'm Roshanak Aryan.

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I'm a Chemical Engineer,
working with U.S. Coast Guard.

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My primary tasks are
reviewing applications

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from independent labs all over the world

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that want to do ballast water
management system testing

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on behalf of the U.S. Coast Guard.

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My birthday is August 4th,

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which is the same day as
Coast Guard's birthday,

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and I learned that first year I was here,

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so it's funny that I tell people so,

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"I was born to do this job." (laughs)

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I review a lot of applications

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from laboratories all over the world,

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and also all over the country,

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so for me, I have to be ready

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to deal with different kind of situations,

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different kind of people, people
from different backgrounds,

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people who don't speak
English, which is helpful,

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because English is also
my second language,

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so it kinda helps me
understand them better.

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Coast Guard is very important
during hurricane seasons,

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helping people out during
hurricanes or floods.

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So last year,

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I was glad that I could help

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in the call center and it
just brought everything

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into focus for me,

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that this is what the Coast
Guard mission is all about.

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There's this guy, he's like,
"Oh, my mom's in the water,"

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or whatever, so...

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I was very touched by it.

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I didn't know how close
I could be to that scene.

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- [Interviewer] And then, were
you able to get help for him?

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- Yes, I was able to do that,

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and it was just unbelievable,
that experience.

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We all come together,
when disaster happens.

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I was born in Tehran, Iran,

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but I have lived most of
my life in the U.S. so,

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I tell people I was born in Iran, (laughs)

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but I'm made in America. (laughs)