Cadet Russell Karshmer, MAST
He is a junior at MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Sandy Hook, a three-season athlete at Henry Hudson Regional School, a member of the MAST Drill Team and Cadet Senior Chief Petty Officer, as well as an EMR on the Highlands Volunteer First Aid Squad.
But Russell Karshmer of Marina Bay Court in Highlands is also the artist whose creative design was designated the most appropriate among all high school students submitted from throughout New Jersey to be on the reverse side of the official commissioning coin for the nation’s newest submarine, SSN-796 the USS New Jersey.
The son of Jill and Gary Karshmer, Russell has lived in Highlands six years, when the family moved from Jersey City in search of a small community on the water with easy access to New York. He had lived in Manhattan until he was five and the family moved to Newport in Jersey City so he could attend Stevens Cooperative School. He opted to attend MAST primarily for the marine biology program, but now admits that “as soon as I took my first Naval Science class, I found my true calling.”
School is so terrific, the teen says, that the most difficult part of it is “having to leave school every day, I love it so much! Obviously,” he said, “the NJROTC program is my favorite part of MAST, but I also loved crewing on our 65-foot research vessel, the Blue Sea.” The boat is docked at the Atlantic Highlands Yacht Harbor and is an integral part of the school’s marine science program.
Russell’s coin design includes depictions of numerous facets of New Jersey, the Navy and the locale where the submarine will be commissioned, and is presented artfully most likely because he also has a background of study in design. As a student at Stevens Cooperative School, he designed many projects, ideas he carried through when he attended Highlands Elementary School.
At MAST, he credits Ms. Sam Moorzitz for teaching him computer aided design, and Ms. Wendy Green for drilling balance, color, movement and other design principles in his regular class work.
While he knew many facts about both the submarine and the state before creating his coin design, Russell said he also researched other facts to verify information he also wanted to include. He said in the naval science program as well as being part of the color guard at MAST, he had knowledge through “drilling year-long on all sorts of facts about the state, the country and the military.”
The coin depicts the view from Mount Mitchill, the highest point on the East Coast, a site chosen for the design, he said, because he had been at the Scenic Overlook for its 9.11 Memorial Service in September “I later realized the view was the perfect vantage point overlooking the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest still operating lighthouse in the nation, the NWS Earle pier in Leonardo where the ship will be commissioned, and Sandy Hook Bay.”
He also wanted to incorporate the state bird, flower and tree in his design, as well as how THREE is important to New Jersey as the third state in the Union and the submarine being the third naval vessel named for the Garden State.
Nor is this the first time the student’s artwork has captured awards for its creativity, ingenuity and historic depiction. Russell won the James T. White Award as a sixth grader in Highlands in a contest sponsored by the Highlands Historical Society. For that contest, he designed a replica model of Veterans Memorial Park in Highlands and presented the design to a board of judges. It was later displayed at the Twin Lights Museum.
The win assures Karshmer of being able to attend the commissioning ceremony, which is open to the public on a limited basis, and he is grateful to the USS New Jersey (SSN796) Commissioning Committee for the opportunity. He’s also grateful to all his instructors at MAST, especially the NJROTC command, for their inspiration to learn on a daily basis and to encourage his honing his own skills.
Tickets for the Commissioning HERE
