Massachusetts Maritime Academy Hosts Women’s Network Event

Filed Under: Non Profit News

Nearly 100 alumni, students, and staff attended the recent Massachusetts Maritime Academy Women’s Network Event at Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA; www.maritime.edu), on March 9 at the Academy’s new Maritime Conference Center on the Buzzards Bay campus.

The event focuses on the Academy’s female alumni and students who are either already immersed in careers in STEM industries or planning them.

MMA
From left, Second Class Cadet Olivia Camelo, Mary Thoman, Class of 1981, and First Class Cadet Katie Gillis.

The event opened with Second Class Cadet Olivia Camelo and First Class Cadet Katie Gillis sharing information about the Empowered 5 Council, which was started just last year and named after the first five females who graduated from the Academy in 1981.  The council was created to provide networking opportunities as well as a mentorship program for all females on campus, which they plan to extend to alumni.  Camelo serves as the council’s president, and Gillis is vice president.

Additionally, the event featured speakers including Mikayla Correia ’18, M’20, assistant director of athletics; Kelly DeMello ’99, M’11, assistant director of career services; Patrick Nobrega, director of intercultural engagement; and Regimental Commander Abigail Pope, ’23.  Closing remarks were made by Captain Brigid Pavolonis, provost.

“This popular event not only connects and celebrates our female graduates, it also provides a unique opportunity for our students to network with and learn from women in all of the industries we serve – and perhaps meet prospective employers,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

MMA is a fully accredited, co-educational, state university offering bachelor and master of science degrees that are highly regarded in the worldwide maritime industry and beyond. For more than 100 years, MMA has prepared students for exciting and rewarding careers on land and sea.