(Editor’s note: This article is part of an Advance/SILive.com Women’s History Month special series, “History Makers,” which profiles Staten Islanders making important, lasting impact on our community. Do you have someone you would like to nominate for a profile? E-mail their name and a brief nomination to [email protected].)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Commander Eustacia (Staci) Weist is too young to have been the first woman ever to attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy — but it was still a first for her.
Today, the Staten Island resident and mother of three is the chief of the inspection division for the Port of New York and New Jersey, one of the nation’s busiest — and most economically critical — port complexes.
Yet, she said that when she thinks back on her early years, when the Coast Guard Academy enrollment was about 20% female, she vividly remembers the self-doubt that haunted her, and one special woman whose own life path encouraged her to hang tough.
“My great-grandmother was a huge source of inspiration,’’ Weist recalled, proudly sharing the story of how the late Helen Lucas was one of the first girls to ever play high school basketball in the state of Ohio. This was during a time in history when the common belief was that girls weren’t even physically capable of running the entire length of the court.
“She used to take a barge up the river to wherever they could get a game against other women’s teams — sleep on the basketball court — and then take the barge back the next day,’’ Weist said with a laugh.
Lucas was widowed young, and raised her children on her own, an admirable feat that isn’t lost on Weist. “She was very much an independent kind of woman, and she was a huge supporter of me going to the Coast Guard Academy,’’ she said.
STEADY RISE IN RANK
Since graduating from the Coast Guard Academy in Groton, Connecticut, in 2000, Weist has steadily risen in rank, and currently commands a staff of 40 men and women,…
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