Empowered 5 Council kicks off event
BUZZARDS BAY, MA …Nearly 100 alumni, students, and staff attended the recent Massachusetts Maritime Academy Women’s Network Event at Massachusetts Maritime Academy , a top-ranked public university with undergraduate degree programs focusing on science, engineering, technology, math, and business that blend academics and experiential learning. The March 9 event was held at the Academy’s new Maritime Conference Center on the Buzzards Bay campus.
What has become a highly anticipated annual event was initially launched in 2015 as a small homecoming reception to celebrate 35 years of women on campus. This first gathering was met with great enthusiasm, prompting an answered call to make it a yearly assembly. The event broadly focuses on the Academy’s female alumni and students who are either already immersed in careers in STEM industries or planning them.
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.
