Robert Mai, EMDS grad spotlight

Our students are looking to make an impact in their fields. Meet Robert Mai, who is graduating May, 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management with concentrations and minors in Political Science and Logistics & Supply Chain Management. Originally from Omaha, Neb., Robert joined the Marine Corps just before he joined the EMGT Program at UNO. He is still serving in the Marine Corps and is halfway through his 6-year contract. With his EMDS degree, Robert secured a career with the State of South Dakota Department of Public Safety as an Aviation Crew Member during his senior year. Robert always has been proactive, engaging, and motivated for finding opportunities and getting involved in the community.

Here is what Robert had to say about our EMDS program:

What did you enjoy most during your time in the Emergency Management program?

I enjoyed my internship most of all. (All EMDS undergrads are required to have an internship.)

I interned with NEMA (Nebraska Emergency Management Agency) and saw a small portion of the positions and jobs in this field and I saw what Emergency Management was like as a career and its critical role in today’s environment. Plus, the connections I made are priceless.

I met people from all different backgrounds with a wealth of knowledge that I wanted to tap into including connections in wildland fire fighting. Because of everything I learned from them, that cemented my choice to want to go into wild fire fighting. I hope to work in wildland firefighting and with FEMA throughout my career. Thanks to the wealth of information, experience, and mentorship they showed me, I found that solid foothold I needed to find work I am passionate about.

What was your favorite Emergency Management class and why?

If we talked about Emergency Management classes, then the Special Topics in EM was offered during the j-term. It dived into two FEMA IS courses, IS-139.a (Exercise Design and Development) and IS-120.c (An Introduction to Exercises; we discussed exercises like drills, functional exercises, and tabletop games. We also learned how to plan, operate and evaluate a full-scale exercise.

It was a short class, but I learned some critical skills in Emergency Management that all students should learn, such as training, testing parts of your emergency systems/processes, and evaluating them. The best example of this is Eppley Airfield’s full-scale exercise here in Omaha they do every three years. Seeing the training and functions of your systems/processes work in real-time is critical, and evaluating how everything went and what could be improved is crucial.

What advice do you have for students considering the field of Emergency Management?

Think about the two concentrations you want to study, they will define your experience. For me, I was in the Marine Corps and saw how Covid-19 decimated the supply chain. So I went with Logistics, Intelligence & Security. I’m interested in the logistical challenges, and with the world becoming more complicated at all levels, from communities to international relations, I wanted to understand the politics on the international level and the gathering and analysis of information gathering on all levels. I found my own way to merge both of my concentrations into a career interest that I’m passionate about.