Thomas Stapleton

Interview Outline

  • 00:00:32          What was your background and why did you decide to enroll at Cal Maritime?
  • 00:01:47          What was your major?
  • 00:02:40          What do you remember about your first experiences on campus?
  • 00:06:20          What courses did you find most interesting or challenging?
  • 00:08:27          Would you tell us about your mentor, Captain Kenneth Orcutt?
  • 00:10:30          During your career, have you crossed paths with other Cal Maritime graduates?
  • 00:10:58          Were there any instructors that were influential for you?
  • 00:12:05          While you were on campus, where did you live
  • 00:12:50          Have you kept in contact with your classmates after graduation?
  • 00:14:08          Would you tell us about your time in the Naval Reserve?
  • 00:17:35          When you were attending school here, what were some of the activities you participated in outside of class?         
  • 00:23:40          What are some of the main differences you noticed between the campus then and now?
  • 00:25:25          What was your first job after graduation?
  • 00:27:57          Can you give us some background about the cartoon that was drawn for you on your yearbook page?
  • 00:34:35          What effect did the political events of Spring 1968 have at Cal Maritime?
  • 00:36:24          What was your experience with the equator crossing ceremony during the training cruises?
  • 00:40:00          Would you tell us about your early career?
  • 00:42:15          How did your career progress into programmable calculators and computer programming?           
  • 00:51:21          Would you explain what a break bulk vessel is?
  • 00:57:02          When you were on the first charge vessel to carry containers from China, did you use your own computer program?
  • 00:58:40          Did you have an opportunity to go on land during your voyage to China in 1979?
  • 00:59:49          Tell us about your involvement with the installation of mini-computer aboard the largest container ships built in the USA.
  • 01:14:54          What other vessels did you write computer programs for?
  • 01:17:40          How did your tie in the Reserves contribute to your computer skills?