When Keemiya Pourmonir walked on stage during her graduation ceremony at United States Coast Guard Academy, there was a special guest waiting for her: President Donald Trump.
Pourmonir, 22, graduated from the New London, Connecticut academy May 17 with a bachelor’s of science in electrical engineering and a commission as an officer in the Coast Guard. Traditionally, new graduates are presented with their co-missions by family members in the military, but special guests are invited to present commissions to graduates without military family.
Pourmonir said Vice President Mike Pence was the expected guest at her graduation, but the Jenkins Township resident was instead greeted on stage by the commander-in-chief.
“He didn’t have to because no one expected him at ours,” Pourmonir said. “I thought it was humbling to have a president who’d be willing to do that for the military, specifically the US Coast Guard just because we are the smallest service and we do get the least funding.”
Pourmonir said Trump was originally scheduled to attend the Naval Academy’s graduation but, due to a scheduling conflict, was unable. Instead, he opted for the Coast Guard Academy’s ceremony.
Trump wasn’t the only person waiting on stage for Pourmonir. Her sister, Ariana Mohnke, is a lieutenant in the United States Coast Guard and presented her with her commission. Pourmonir said her sister played a large part in her decision to join the armed forces.
“I saw what she could do in the Coast Guard and what she was doing,” Pourmonir said. “It’s an opportunity to help people and serve my country.”
Pourmonir was enrolled in the Pittston Area School District until seventh grade when she transferred to Milton Hershey School in Hershey. In addition to the Coast Guard Academy, Pourmonir was accepted to eight different academic universities during her post-secondary application process. After a combination of boot camp, leadership training and academic studies, the daughter of Shahrooz and Careen Pourmonir, of Jenkins Township, donned her uniform for graduation.
The ceremony was also a special day for Mohnke, the Pourmonirs’ eldest daughter and a 2010 graduate of the academy.
“It was a great experience to shake the president’s hand and give my baby sister her commission to the US Coast Guard as an officer,” Mohnke said. “It was a really great experience meeting the President of the United States — and a billionaire — for the first time.”
Mohnke is currently stationed in Washington, D.C., but her first duty station was out of Key West, Florida — the same station where Pourmonir will report to Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo after her 30-day leave period.
Pourmonir will serve on the vessel as deck watch officer; she will drive the ship during its mission of drug and migrant interdiction, as well as search and rescue.
