{"id":294,"date":"2021-12-06T16:07:21","date_gmt":"2021-12-06T16:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/?p=294"},"modified":"2021-12-13T16:25:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T16:25:40","slug":"finding-your-passion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/class-notes\/finding-your-passion\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Your Passion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alumni\u2019s work will help train the next generation of mariners<\/h2>\n
\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Growing up in Portland\u2019s East End neighborhood, Richard \u2018Dickie\u2019 Balzano didn\u2019t know exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew service to his community would be central to it. His parents encouraged him to take an active role in helping others and military service had long been a part of their family history. \u201cThey were proud Americans,\u201d he remembers. \u201cThey would always ask what I was going to do for my country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A cousin recommended pursuing a degree at Maine Maritime Academy and Balzano quickly realized that it would be a good fit, providing him with ample opportunity to explore various career opportunities. \u201cI wanted a challenge,\u201d he says. \u201cI wanted to try as many things as I could to find out what I might really like.\u201d<\/p>\n

“[These vessels] will change how we train the next generation of mariners and how we respond to natural and humanitarian crises.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Balzano excelled at MMA, finding both professional opportunities and personal fulfillment through friendships with his new peers. As he got to know his classmates and their families, he was exposed to the possibilities of what a career in the military offered. \u201cI found folks that were really focused on joining the military. When I arrived as a MUG it was exactly what I wanted to do, but the more I got exposed to its culture \u2013 especially the Special Operations community \u2013 the more I felt it would fit very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Balzano embarked upon what would become a 30 year career, serving the maritime industry in both private and U.S. government sector jobs. After retiring from the U.S. Navy as Captain, he served for three years as the presidentially appointed Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Maritime Administration.<\/p>\n

During his time at MARAD, Balzano worked with state and federal partners to help secure approval and funding for new emergency response vessels for each of the state maritime academies (SMAs). As a result of this work, MMA is scheduled to receive a new National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) in 2024. \u201cIt is a historic accomplishment,\u201d he says. \u201c[These vessels] will change how we train the next generation of mariners and how we respond to natural and humanitarian crises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout that process, and indeed throughout his career, Balzano relied on teamwork, collaboration, honesty, and trust to complete his mission. \u201cI\u2019ve learned many things the hard way,\u201d he notes. \u201cBut these principles have guided me throughout my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

He encourages others, particularly current MMA students, to adopt the same approach. \u201cFind what inspires you and follow it,\u201d he says. \u201cTake the good from every experience and use whatever you learn in future opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, Balzano was named as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director for Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), a national trade association whose members provide dredging services for navigation, coastal protection, environmental restoration, and shoreline resilience throughout the United States.\u2588<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alumni\u2019s work will help train the next generation of mariners<\/p>\n

\"Richard<\/p>\n

Growing up in Portland\u2019s East End neighborhood, Richard \u2018Dickie\u2019 Balzano didn\u2019t know exactly what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew service to his community would be central to it. His parents encouraged him to take an active role in helping others and military service had long been a part of their family history. \u201cThey were proud Americans,\u201d he remembers. \u201cThey would always ask what I was going to do for my country.\u201d<\/p>\n

A cousin recommended pursuing a degree at Maine Maritime Academy and Balzano quickly realized that it would be a good fit, providing him with ample opportunity to explore various career opportunities. \u201cI wanted a challenge,\u201d he says. \u201cI wanted to try as many things as I could to find out what I might really like.\u201d<\/p>\n

“[These vessels] will change how we train the next generation of mariners and how we respond to natural and humanitarian crises.”<\/p>\n

Balzano excelled at MMA, finding both professional opportunities and personal fulfillment through friendships with his new peers. As he got to know his classmates and their families, he was exposed to the possibilities of what a career in the military offered. \u201cI found folks that were really focused on joining the military. When I arrived as a MUG it was exactly what I wanted to do, but the more I got exposed to its culture \u2013 especially the Special Operations community \u2013 the more I felt it would fit very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Balzano embarked upon what would become a 30 year career,<\/p>\n

…Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":508,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions\/508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/mariner\/issue2-2021\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}