Cassia Bomer Galvao, Ph.D., M.Sc., AMA PCM

I attribute my success to the Fulbright scholarship, which was not just an award itself but a launch pad for everything that came next. I spent a lot of years building my rocket, but the Fulbright was really the launch pad. It was a perfect combination of circumstances - it required full-time education, so I had to quit my corporate job, but it also opened up opportunities for me to interact with this whole new world of applied research in port development and maritime shipping. The timing was also an arrangement of God, because I was able to be full-time at home helping my mom take care of my dad during his illness, while completing my studies to be able to apply for my position at Texas A&M. My dad passed away 2 months after I moved to the United States, but I'm sure he was very happy to see me moving forward. The family influence was also crucial - my parents always pushed us to travel and do study abroad programs, and my dad's work in Customs and Border Control meant our dinner conversations were always about international trade, which shaped my career interests from an early age.

The best career advice I received came from two of my mentors during my Master of Science program in Brazil. They suggested that I should continue pursuing education and maybe earn a PhD. At that time, I thought my PhD wasn't going to do anything for business, because I was already in a company doing what I wanted. But they insisted and said, 'You have this interest for education and scholarship, you should try this.' It took me a few years to fully decide, but their encouragement to pursue the academic path alongside my business career ultimately led me to where I am today. They saw something in me that I didn't see in myself at the time - that I could bridge the gap between the practical business world and academic research.

Young women entering the maritime industry should actively seek mentorship, engage with professional and women-focused organizations, and commit to continuous learning while gaining practical experience to effectively bridge the gap between industry practice and policy.

The biggest challenge and opportunity in my field right now is AI and how it's transforming education. This is no joke - this is the genie out of the bottle type of thing. We have the first generation of students graduating this May who had AI at their fingertips throughout their entire college career, since ChatGPT launched in 2022. We're now getting a new crop of students who had AI during their high school years, and it's changing the way they think and process information. As educators, we had to catch up - there was no way to ignore it or completely avoid it. I fully embrace it as much as I can in my classes, and my students are actually required to use AI for some assignments. But we're making adjustments every semester because there's still a lot of uncertainty. Some students are scared of academic honesty problems, while others are repulsive to it. The challenge is that older generations like mine were wired to look for information and make sense of what we find, but these kids are not wired like that. If AI becomes their reality rather than just a tool, we have some issues. I don't think we've achieved an ideal model with AI in higher education yet - it's still a very fluid situation. Beyond AI, another major opportunity is making maritime education more accessible and visible. Maritime is almost an invisible industry in the United States - people only know about it if they have family involved or if there's a disaster. We need to expand maritime education beyond traditional vessel officers to serve the nine shore-based jobs needed for every officer we produce.

The most important values to me are staying relevant and continuing to serve others. We only exist as public servants because we serve the public and our students. I've seen some colleagues get stuck in nostalgia or legacy after achieving something big, but I believe we need to keep moving forward and adapting. Students change, and while I wish we didn't have to spend so much time teaching basic things, these are the students we have, so let's try to help them rather than just criticize. I'm committed to meeting students where they are and providing opportunities for those who may not have the time, money, or ability to be in school for 4 years or even 18 months for an MBA. Another core value is being a connector and making knowledge accessible. I love what I do and I love my students, and I recognize that education shouldn't just be for those who can afford traditional programs. Family is also deeply important to me - I make all financial decisions over $20 with my husband because we share finances 100%, and I don't make decisions without talking to him. The timing of my Fulbright was also meaningful because it allowed me to help my mom take care of my dad during his illness while completing my studies, which I see as an arrangement of God.