Disclaimer: Norris Comer is also the editor of The Sea Chest, the tri-annual journal of Puget Sound Maritime. He is not directly involved in the YMTA scholarship process in any way.
We of the Pacific Northwest, and frankly the United States more broadly, tend to agree that the educational pipeline that used to lead the next generation of maritime professionals to the various industries aquatic is busted. The silver lining for society, however, is that determined individuals and communities are striving to address the problem. There is a healthy amount of buzz around new, innovative approaches.
For example, in my last People Power column iteration I wrote about the under-construction, soon-to-be opened Maritime253 education campus in Tacoma, WA. You may have heard about other local programs like nonprofit Core Plus seeking to put shop class curricula back in schools or the Maritime High School in Des Moines, WA, that have formed within the last decade or so (Core Plus was 2012). These folks deserve a round of applause (and funding), and I have no doubt I’ll dive deeper into their successes and challenges in future columns.
However, there have been a few grizzled veterans of this supporting-youth-maritime-education struggle who’ve been in the trenches of the good fight for decades. One notable and often overlooked example is the Youth Maritime Training Association’s (YMTA) Norm Manly Education Scholarship program, organized by the legacy nonprofit Puget Sound Maritime (PSM, formerly the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, founded in 1948).
In short, instead of exclusively focusing on starting large, complex institutions from scratch, why not just give money to fired-up students pursuing advanced marine-related degrees?
Origins
“The YMTA was formed in 1996 by representatives of maritime employers and labor organizations focused on expanding youth awareness of the opportunities available in the maritime field and facilitating access to training and education opportunities,” wrote Nathaniel Howe, director of PSM. “The YMTA formed as an independent nonprofit governed by an elected board of directors. Numerous people were instrumental in its growing operations, not the least, Norm Manly and Dr. Gary Stauffer.” YMTA fell under the umbrella of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society in 2014 and prompted the organization to change its name to PSM to reflect its broadened mission beyond the historical.
Now PSM members (notably champions Roger Ottenbach and Ken Passé) rally financial commitments from regional maritime organizations, organize the application and judging processes, and award the scholarships in May every year. Notably, the students must be residents of Washington state. The ceremony has taken place at the Compass Courses facility in Edmonds, WA, for several years.
In 2025, $26,000 worth of financial assistance was awarded to six promising students from an 18-strong applicant pool. Judges included Roni Kittelson, Tosca Pinder, Russell Shrewsbury, Pat Ninburg, and Jim Heron. The generous scholarship sponsors who opened their wallets to make it all happen included The Council of American Master Mariners, Western Towboat Company, The Goodfellow Fund, The Seattle Propeller Club, CSR Marine, Fremont Boat Company, and Foss Maritime.
Simple Solution to a Complex Problem
While in the grand scheme of things $26,000 to six students is not a simple solution to our marine labor force woes, if one consistently drips those drops into an empty bucket, it will fill eventually. In-part thanks to last year’s funds, scholarship recipients Finn Deprez of Fox Island and Tarin Barrett of Bothell are attending Maine Maritime Academy. Seattleites Anouk Hayami and Ryan Bonsack with Port Orchard native Chloe Hedge are using their financial assistance to attend Cal Maritime. Ellie Jo Tanferani of Bothell is attending Oregon State University to pursue a degree in marine microbiology.
These motivated students matter and giving them a leg up to enter marine professions is an investment in them as people and in all of us as a society. If the maritime industries want talent, maybe doing it ourselves via a successful legacy scholarship program is a worthy effort. If $26,000 could help six students in 2025, imagine what $260,000 could do? The maritime community has the cash and the need; all it lacks is the will. PSM’s seasoned hand at the helm has been earned through generations of trust—this is not just another nonprofit founded yesterday that’s too big for its breeches.
Maybe if you have to fill an empty bucket and all you have is drops, the best move is to gather as many drops as you can and put ’em in the damn bucket.
The 2026 iteration of the YMTA scholarship is now open to applications until March 30. Are you a Washington high school student interested in pursuing a marine facing career, or are you raising one? Are you a local organization or maritime business who may want to sponsor the scholarship? Now is a good time to reach out via the website in the contact information sidebar.
Contact YMTA
Applications for the 2026 YMTA Norm Manly Education Scholarship Program is open at the time of this writing until March 30. The best source of information and access to the application is online at https://ymta.net.
