Amanda Symonds has been president and owner of Chesapeake Marine Training Institute since 2016.

Her company, located on George Washington Memorial Highway in Hayes, has provided maritime training to thousands of mariners since it was established in 1992. Its services are used by workboat operators, recreational mariners, various government agencies, and shipping companies throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

A Gloucester native, Symonds did an internship at CMTI while in high school, then returned there shortly after graduation and worked as a receptionist while attending Rappahannock Community College, where she earned an associate’s degree in Arts and Science.

During her time as a receptionist, Symonds also began serving as a license consultant and handling license applications for mariners. She worked her way up to office manager and then general manager, and when the company’s former president and founder Guy Sorensen decided to retire in 2016, she was prepared to take on ...