Jason Chen ‘18 receives certificate of merit from the U.S. Coast Guard

Captain Holly Najarian, Sector Commander of the United States Coast Guard, presented student Jianxiao “Jason” Chen ’18 with a certificate of merit from the USCG on Thursday, March 30. 

Chen assisted the USCG by translating a de-briefing conference for the mother of Jie Lou, one of the young men who was caught in a rip current off of Pass-a-Grille and missing. During the search, the USCG was unable to find a Chinese translator and reached out to Admiral Farragut Academy during spring break. Chen, who stayed on campus during the break, was instrumental in explaining and translating the process of the search, rescue, and transition to a recovery mission to Lou’s mother.

“As this was a most delicate task, Chen handled the situation with dignity and respect,” said Captain Najarian. “His presence and translation truly helped the family during this very difficult time.”

Farragut has received many accolades as to what an impressive, outstanding, yet humble cadet Jason is. He represented our school with pride. “This is a big honor for me and I’ve never received something like this before,” said Chen who plans to study engineering or business at UCS or UCLA once he graduates. “I did the best I could to help the community.”

In addition to the certificate of merit, Chen also received a USCG tumbler and challenge coin. “The coin is only given when the person exemplifies one or more of the three tenets of my command philosophy: service, professionalism, and or teamwork,” explained Captain Najarian. “Jason was both providing a service to the Coast Guard and the community, as well as exuding professionalism in the face of an extremely stressful situation.”

Please keep the family and friends of Jie Lou and Andrew Dillman in your thoughts and prayers.