By Javier Chagoya

Like nearly 500 other new Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) students., Lt. j.g. Jamie Francona of Brookline, Mass., is wrapping up her first week of graduate school at the university.

Francona, a 2013 graduate of the Naval Academy in economics, is enrolled in the challenging cyber systems and operations program, starting out with required courses in logic and discrete math, mathematical proofs and single variable calculus. Her curriculum might be math heavy, she says, but she’s up for the challenge.

“It’s really the big change of pace that I’m getting used to in the short time I’ve been at NPS,” said Francona. “We all had our jobs in the squadron, filled with routine, including the operational tempo during deployments. I’ve found that I have a lot of autonomy here, in spite of the loads of math to learn.”

Francona comes to NPS following two tour as an Information Warfare officer with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Four (HSC-4) at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, Calif. She spent two years as the intelligence officer, completed two deployments with HSC-4 aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).

Rapidly getting used to life on the Monterey Peninsula, Francona says she has already ran into old friends, shipmates and Academy classmates, and has explored some of the region’s most notable sights.

“And as for as living in Monterey, I think it’s fantastic! I’ve already hiked in Big Sur. I’m thinking about joining the NPS Foundation’s Bike Club because I love biking and I like riding in groups. So, I’m really looking forward to exploring the surrounding areas,” she added.