College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies

December Graduate Jossette Chimes Appreciates Her Past, Looks To Her Future

Chimes reflects on how her opportunities as both an employee and a student at Texas A&M University at Galveston paved the way for her next chapter. 
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Jossette Chimes ’24 started her journey at Texas A&M University at Galveston as a business coordinator for the Department of Maritime Business Administration in January 2022. With a professional background in the oil and gas industry as well as elementary teaching, Chimes wanted to dig deeper into the “why” behind the work, hoping to strengthen her educational foundation in the process. By the fall of that year, she started on her journey to earning the department’s Master of Maritime Business Administration and Logistics. While carefully balancing the roles of a full-time student, full-time employee and full-time mother, Chimes relentlessly pursued her goal, and on December 13, she graduated with her degree. 

To start her master’s level classes, Chimes needed to complete a handful of prerequisites. Determined to continue her formal education, she worked through the needed classes at a community college and as a non-degree-seeking student at the Galveston Campus until she could be admitted into the master’s program. 

“I had to keep a clear focus on my future,” she said. “I knew I had gaps in my academic background, but I didn’t want that to hold me back.” 

Chimes was soon taking classes alongside her student employees from the maritime business administration office and with her colleagues as professors in the program. She says her success was possible by keeping her experience in the classroom and her work in the office separate.

As a student, Chimes took full advantage of every opportunity at hand. She expresses a deep appreciation of the professional networking options that were available to her, with a keen awareness that anyone she meets could be a future coworker or boss. 

As a member of the Student Association of Maritime Administrators (SAMA), she volunteered with the International Transportation Management Association, which awarded her the Eisbein Scholarship after a comprehensive application process. 

“Participating with SAMA allowed me to represent the students at our university and in my degree program while continuing to learn more about the industry,” Chimes said. “It’s not just an organization – it’s the closest thing that a student can have to being in the industry without actually being in the industry workforce.” She continued, “SAMA allowed me to solidify my career goals to identify which career path I want to take.” 

Chimes shared that networking didn’t end with SAMA or the other industry events that she attended. Her professors also made a concerted effort to connect the students to industry professionals, going above and beyond her expectations.

“I’m particularly appreciative of my professors who brought industry leaders to campus,” Chimes said. “They can enrich the learning experience in a way that a traditional classroom lecture may miss.” 

Dr. Cassia Bomer Galvao, an associate professor in the maritime business administration department, commended Chimes for her commitment and work ethic. 

“Jossette is a very dedicated student with a tremendous life story,” said Galvao. “She’s an incredibly hard worker in our office and in the classroom, and I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to get to know her over the last few years. She truly represents the future of the maritime workforce, and I’m thrilled that her journey led her to Texas A&M-Galveston.”

Chimes completed what’s typically a two-year program in just 18 months. She emphasized her enthusiasm and continued support for the department, although she’s excited to start the next chapter of her career and is currently looking for roles in supply chain management and logistics. 

“I love how things move from one place to another, ending where they need to go. From the moment of purchase to the delivery of the product to the customer, this is what makes logistics and supply chain management so fulfilling to me.”

Though she knows she will soon leave her role in the Department of Maritime Business Administration to work in the industry, she envisions returning to the Galveston Campus someday – not as a student, but as a professor. 

“I always want to help people become the best version of themselves, to show them how to approach real problems with real solutions,” Chimes said. “I just do not want to be an example for my kids but for anyone who is pursuing a dream. If you have a dream, no matter what obstacles are in your way, pursue it and don’t stop – take the jump and go with it. If you do not try it, you do not know what you are missing.”

She continued, “I am thankful for the great resources I found [at] Texas A&M University at Galveston, my department heads and professors. I am a very proud Aggie now.”

Media Contact

Taylor Bounds
bounds@tamu.edu
409-740-4929