Each year, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Alumni Association presents the distinguished award of Alumnus of the Year to a graduate in honor of recognized achievements in his or her professional career pursuits, outstanding efforts on behalf of the Academy or Alumni Association, participation in community and civic affairs, and honored performance within professional affiliations.

This year the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Alumni Association is proud to present this award to Musa Pam, a distinguished “Double Buc” who earned degrees in Marine Engineering in 1995 and in Facilities & Plant Engineering in 1996, the first ever MMA graduate to earn both degrees.  He also holds an MBA from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.

Pam is the proud recipient of the 2011 MMA Celebration of Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Facilities Engineering, and he is quick to note that he was destined to become a maritimer, as the first few letters of his parents’ Mariam and Timothy names spell out the word maritime in four different languages.  Musa never truly left MMA, and can be often seen on campus supporting various causes. One member of the Academy staff often teases him by asking “Will you go get a job?!”

In September 1991, Pam arrived on Taylor’s Point from his native Nigeria with nothing but the clothes on his back, because somehow his luggage was misplaced by British Airways in the aftermath of Hurricane Bob sweeping through the region.  His leadership qualities emerged quickly and were fully embraced by the entire Academy community, as he was the first international student and person of color to be elected as President of the Student Government Association.  As a student-athlete, Musa excelled both on and off the field, and during his senior campaign of 1994 was elected as a men’s soccer co-captain under the guidance of then second-year and now 25^th-year head coach Greg Perry, earning MVP honors that year. He would later serve one of Coach Perry’s assistants, and for seven years he served as an adjunct member of faculty in the Master of Science in Facilities Management program at the Academy, advising students on their capstone projects.

Currently Founder and CEO of Plateau Asset Management, a micro private equity firm that honors his heritage and family name, Pam is an entrepreneur, innovator, aspiring author and consultant.  He spent two decades providing practical and innovative award-winning energy engineering, facilities management, and corporate social responsibility solutions to institutional clients in the Northeastern United States.  Musa began his career as an Energy Engineer with AMERESCO before joining Sodexo in 1997, progressively moving through positions of increasing responsibility culminating as District Manager.  During an 18-plus year career with Sodexo, he ranked fourth out of 150 of the company’s healthcare district managers in 2014.

A lucky stroke survivor of almost six years, Pam credits friends and associates from Massachusetts Maritime with helping him through his recovery and rehabilitation. As his way of paying forward his blessings, he has mentored and hired interns and graduates from MMA while serving on numerous committees and advisory boards here at the Academy, at Boston University and throughout Greater Boston.

To date, the highlight of his year came in July when Pam was crowned the 2017 North American One-Armed Golfers’ Association Sanders Division National Champion.  With humility and gratitude to the MMA Alumni Association Board, and without equivocation, Musa states that this honor is the greatest ever bestowed upon him.