Editor's note: Retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard often does not mean retiring from service and leadership. In light of New London's recent designation as a Coast Guard City, The Day interviewed several people who served in the Coast Guard and live in the area, and through their jobs or volunteer work are contributing to the local community.

Readers are invited to tell The Day about other retired Coast Guard men and women who make southeastern Connecticut a better place to live. Go to: www.theday.com/submitcoastguardprofile

New London — Susan Bibeau vowed to never be one of those retirees who become "very shaken by the change" of their new lifestyle.

"I vowed I'd never allow that to happen in my life, and I don't think I did," Bibeau, who retired with the rank of captain in 2010 after 30 years in the Coast Guard, said recently in an interview at the Officers' Club at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

"In retrospect it was so quick," she said of her career in the Coast Guard. "I felt to some degree that I had just started but I was eager to move on to the next thing and also take a break, which I did for about nine months and then I got bored and went back to work."

Bibeau took a position as vice president of enrollment management at Mitchell College. The mission of the college was something she apppreciated, being a mission-driven person herself "as are a lot of people in the Coast Guard." The college assists many students who have learning disabilities or "other obstacles that have made it difficult for them to sail smoothly through their education," she said

"I need that higher purpose in my work," Bibeau continued.  

Now she's back on the campus where she was among the first women to graduate, in 1980, and where she ended her active-duty career as director of admissions. Bibeau returned to the academy last October, after three years at Mitchell, now as a civilian employee in the admissions department. The job involves marketing the academy to attract prospective students.

"Being in the Coast Guard has allowed me to develop my best talents. Not everyone can say that, I think," Bibeau said. "It's given me confidence. I know that I have a lot to offer."

Bibeau lives in Stonington with her two kids, Nick and Ellie. Editor's note: This corrects an earlier version.

Since retiring from active duty, Bibeau said, she has more time now to get involved in the community, primarily through her children. She's on the board of the Noank Rowing Club, where her son, Nick, really got interested in rowing, and is involved with a  committee of a local Boy Scouts Troop. Nick has been a Scout since a young age.

But Bibeau hopes to do more when she officially retires, whenever that may be. 

"I've often thought about helping more with people who are disadvantaged, whether homeless or addicted or suffering," Bibeau said. "There's a lot of need out there. My kids are my priority right now."

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: @JuliaSBergman