![\"Part](\"\/mariner\/issue1-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/04\/formula-2.jpg\")
As part of a team in a capstone sytems engineering project, Ma presents how they plan to develop a fluorescent dye marker to aid rescue in man-overboard situations.<\/p><\/div>\n
At the end of his enlistment, Ma set his sights on attending college. But his family recruited him to help his father start a business fabricating granite countertops and cabinetry. Involvement in bootstrapping the company introduced Ma to entrepreneurial experience\u2014finding a manufacturing facility location, permits, licensing, suppliers, contractors and marketing. The business now employs a team of people who do complete installations, including electrical and plumbing.<\/p>\n
MMA Challenges<\/h3>\n
With his experience from the Navy and business start-up under his belt, Ma turned his attention to choosing a college. \u201cI had learned how to learn and research, to navigate information,\u201d he says. \u201cI basically discovered MMA from a Google search, and as I browsed the school\u2019s website and saw the marine systems engineering degree program, it seemed like an open door for me, a match for what I had done and what I wanted to be. I came for a visit and fell in love with the setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it is for most freshmen, especially those who choose the Regiment and challenge of Systems Engineering, Ma found the experience daunting: \u201cI was definitely testing the water,\u201d he says. But by his sophomore year, he became involved in the regimental training staff as a Delta Company Mentor and was chosen President of the Student Government Association (SGA), which soon summoned his leadership ability with the sinking of SS El Faro<\/em> in Hurricane Joaquin in October, 2015.<\/p>\n The tragedy involved the loss of five MMA alumni, most of whom were recent graduates, and for days surrounding the event the morale on campus was low and grief was high.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in a state of shock myself,\u201d says Ma, \u201cbut I kept thinking about what we could do to support students, families and the community.\u201d With MMA staff collaboration, SGA organized a candlelight vigil on Leavitt Hall lawn that brought hundreds together to \u201cbring hope to family and friends, a way for students to pray for those lost, and the lights to guide them back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n As SGA president his sophomore year, Ma was instrumental in organizing a vigil during the SS El Faro<\/i> tragedy.<\/p><\/div>\n A table was set with photos of the alumni and handwritten signs, \u201cMariners Forever\u201d among them. Special counseling sessions were offered to students to encourage discussion with faculty and others to share feelings and concerns.<\/p>\n At about the same time, Ma confesses his academic load and extra activities forced him to question whether he wanted to stay in the five-year systems program or change to a less taxing one that would allow him to graduate sooner. He failed a class. \u201cI was too involved in other things and didn\u2019t manage my time as well as needed,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n As when he was in the Navy, he asked a mentor, Chris Gilman, then an MMA senior, for help. \u201cI was able to convince him to stay with the systems program,\u201d says Gilman, \u201cby explaining the long-term value of the program and that his career options would be greater.<\/p>\n \u201cEddie will be successful at whatever he sets his sights on,\u201d Gilman says. \u201cI was always surprised and impressed by the responsibility he took on\u2014he is a fantastic student leader.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Paul Wlodkowski, one of Ma\u2019s engineering professors and also a mentor, says, \u201cWhile at MMA, Eddie has evolved to be philosophical, yet pragmatic. I\u2019ve observed him develop a passion for understanding the interconnectedness among various engineering disciplines, whether it\u2019s thermo-fluids, structures or materials; yet he has the vision to see it all as a powerful pathway to a career in the global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n As Ma has progressed in his studies, he also has stayed involved in student affairs. In early 2017, he successfully lobbied and helped secure funding for a veterans center on campus, which opened in a wing of Captain Quick Hall on Veteran\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n The center provides a quiet lounge where veterans can connect to discuss relevant issues or work alone. MMA has 23 students who are veterans this year. There were only five when Ma arrived.<\/p>\n One recent afternoon at the center, he talked energetically about what the future may hold for him now that he\u2019s in his final year at the academy. He\u2019s Vice President for the Class of 2018 and hoping to become a surveyor and auditor after he graduates.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I look back\u2014and ahead\u2014I have a deep sense of gratitude,\u201d he says. \u201cThe scholarships have been meaningful to me, not just financially, but emotionally, knowing that I have done something right.<\/p>\n \u201cThat keeps me going and makes me feel honored. At the same time, I want to pay it forward to the next generation of students.<\/p>\n \u201cI love a quote from Jimmy Dean, \u2018I can\u2019t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think it\u2019s important to be flexible but know when to focus, do the right thing\u2014even when no one is watching\u2014and keep going. You will succeed.\u201d\u2588<\/span><\/p>\n Ma chats with another student military veteran in the new Veterans Center he helped create: \u201cNow veterans have a place to get together to talk about their stories, where they can relax, decompress, and get support.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n The impact of scholarship assistance is profound and life-changing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Of the nearly 300 new students who enroll at MMA annually, 80% benefit from funding assistance. Financial aid is critical to help MMA bridge an estimated $600,000 needed in additional scholarship funding this year.<\/p>\n Eddie Ma benefits as a recipient of two scholarships, the Robert S. Walker Regimental and Kirsten J. Friberg Memorial endowed scholarship funds.<\/p>\n Part of the motivation for Bob Walker \u201953 to create his fund (which had 16 recipients in 2017) is based on his experience as an MMA student. \u201cIt was tough,\u201d he says. \u201cPart of the reason I came to MMA was because funding for students (which my family could not afford) was subsidized by the federal government, but halfway through school, the funding stopped and a lot of us were left scrambling for money to finish.\u201d Walker\u2019s father borrowed the funds from a friend, and within months of graduating and going to sea, he says, \u201cI paid him back in full.\u201d<\/p>\n Walker started a small ship repair company in Norfolk, Virginia, which grew to several hundred employees, holding a Master Ship Repair Contract with the U.S. Government. He ultimately sold his company (MHI, Inc.) to his employees. He was also a member of the MMA Board of Trustees for more than seven years.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Eddie were sitting here now,\u201d Walker says, \u201cI\u2019d want to learn of his plans and what he wants to do. Then I would just give him the encouragement to go do the best you can\u2014and never give up.\u201d \u201cI would offer Eddie the following advice, a saying of Richard\u2019s father,\u201d Daniel notes, \u201c\u2018Live beneath your means and between your seams.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n For both Walker and Daniel, their endowments are seen as investments where success is \u201can opportunity for others to better themselves and our country,\u201d says Daniel. Walker says, \u201cThere\u2019s no better feeling\u2014no amount of money you might otherwise earn for your dollars\u2014than knowing you\u2019ve helped someone progress with their life and career with a work ethic instilled by MMA that is beyond reproach.\u201d\u2588<\/span><\/p>\n Photos: Billy Sims & Associated Press<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Newton\u2019s Second Law of Motion\u2014force equals mass times acceleration\u2014is an apt figurative description of systems engineering major Eddie Ma \u201918.<\/p>\n The proof is a long list of Ma\u2019s academic and extracurricular achievements. His personal drive is the force behind it all. But the financial support he receives in the form of two scholarships, the Robert S. Walker Regimental scholarship and Kirsten J. Friberg Memorial scholarship, have proven essential.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people pass through MMA keeping a low profile, but Eddie isn\u2019t one of those people,\u201d says Chris Gilman \u201916, a former student mentor.<\/p>\n Learn from the Best<\/p>\n In 2002, Ma immigrated with his family from China to Connecticut where he graduated in 3 \u00bd years from high school in 2008. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy, trained as a gas turbine technician, graduating at the top of his class, and was assigned to the Seventh Fleet in Japan.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told in tech school if you don\u2019t advance to E5 (Petty Officer, Second Class) within your first contract, you\u2019re not doing it right,\u201d says Ma. \u201cI was also told, \u2018Look for the best. Learn from the best.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cSo I had that mindset going into my first assignment, and was lucky two people recognized I wanted to learn and took me under their wing. Within three years, I qualified for Engine Duty Officer and Fire Marshall.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of his enlistment, Ma set his sights on attending college. But his family recruited him to help his father start a business fabricating granite countertops and cabinetry. Involvement in bootstrapping the company introduced Ma to entrepreneurial experience\u2014finding a manufacturing facility location,<\/p>\n![\"Vigil](\"\/mariner\/issue1-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/04\/formula-1.jpg\")
Growing Passion<\/h3>\n
Paying Forward<\/h3>\n
![\"Talking](\"\/mariner\/issue1-2018\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2018\/04\/formula-3.jpg\")
Two Donors, One Cause<\/h1>\n
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\nSheila Daniel and her husband, Richard Friberg \u201961, established a fund in their daughter Kirsten\u2019s memory that is the largest in MMA history. Friberg began his career at age 15 as a cabin boy on a Norwegian freighter and retired as a chief mate in 1999. He passed away in November, 2016. After a career as a mathematics teacher and consultant, Daniel leads an active life working with nonprofit groups, and pursuing hobbies and travel.<\/p>\n