Our Appreciation
By Jacob Ashley, U.S. Army
Michael Aguinaldo – Senior
Military Service
Navy: 2010 – 2021
OS Operations Specialist
Major and Focus
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Business Technology and Analytics
Michael Aguinaldo served on the cruiser USS Chosin, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for five years. As an operations specialist, it was his duty to navigate and track targets using radar. He deployed three times during this period, assisting the USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson, and USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier groups. These deployments took him throughout the Western Pacific (WestPac) region, visiting the Philippines, Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Guam, as well as the Eastern Pacific (EastPac) region, including Canada, the west coast of the United States, Mexico, and Panama.
As a native resident of Maui, serving at Pearl Harbor gave him relatively close access to his family home while at port. Still, the Navy allowed him to experience all the travel mentioned above. One of his visits to the U.S. mainland even included the 2015 Rose Festival here in Portland, when the USS Chosin was on display. This would turn out to be quite serendipitous, as he would later serve as a Navy recruiter in the City of Roses for the latter portion of his career. He says, “I probably sent over 500 future sailors to basic training in my time, but I call this a really small world because I mentored and trained the Veteran Resource Center director’s daughter, and I never would have thought I’d be going to school at Portland State, now working for her dad.”
While on the ship, a senior chief taught classes to the sailors who volunteered. Some of these classes could count as college credits. Michael says, “It was hard enough to do the work with no Wi-Fi or cell service, but I couldn’t imagine how hard it was for the senior chief. He had to do his primary job, then come teach us after work.” With those classes, some credits from high school, and a handful more from community colleges in Texas, Michael arrived at PSU as a sophomore to complete his focus in three years instead of four, this year being his last.
Every service member has a moment in uniform they hold above the rest, and for Michael, it was in 2014. He says, “It was an exercise with 50 countries called RIMPAC. We sailed off the coast of Hawaii with a decommissioned ship, the USS Ogden, in tow. We would use it for a harpoon missile exercise, and the captain hand-selected me to launch it. We had done mock launches before, but this was the real deal.” Michael continues, “I really had to go through my books and study. I said, ‘Sir, I need your approval to launch the harpoon missile.’ They call it the ‘Bulldog.’ This salty man, he’s been in the Navy about 30 years, gives me the launch key and says, ‘You can launch it.’”
Michael tells how the buttons light up. He puts the key in. “I’m already shaking,” he explains, “Anything can happen. It could misfire and explode the ship.” Twist. There is a five-second delay, and he’s worried. Finally, the ship starts shaking, and the missile launches. It feels like forever as the missile goes from waypoint to waypoint, a tactic to avoid enemy countermeasures. Finally, it drops in altitude, skimming the water under radar detection. Boom, the USS Ogden sinks.
Perhaps the greatest part of the story is that the sunken ship would create an artificial reef, home to countless species, for the rest of time. A legacy Michael gets to be an integral part of—not one of destruction, but creation. Forever a part of his Native Hawaii.
Joshua Baczkowski – Junior
Military Service
Marines: 2012 – 2017
5979 Tactical Air Operations and Air Defense Technician
Major and Focus
Bachelor of Science in Business and Global Supply Chain Management
After having long conversations about his future with several relatives and transferring from the Computer Science program at PCC, Joshua Baczkowski has found a genuine interest at Portland State University. He says, “Since I’ve been here, it’s just been incredibly eye-opening, learning about businesses of all sizes and the public sector in general. What’s happening in the world right now, the impact these organizations have on it, it’s just so important to understand it all.”
He’s found the most significant inspiration from GSCM 439, Global Sources and Negotiations, where he learned of Toyota and their journey from looms to multinational auto manufacturers. He exclaimed, “The interesting part is how universal the process is and how it can push to other industries, not just the auto industry, not just manufacturing, but you can implement that production system just about anywhere. And you can see improvement in real-time when a business finds its way and commits to it. I just find that amazing!”
In a recent mentor session with Professor Daniel Wong about his future hopes of working in the rail industry, he realized he had many misconceptions, stating, “I misunderstood so many things about the industry before talking to Daniel. And after meeting with him, I just want to learn so much more. But I’m a husband and a father, and I have to be real about balancing my aspirations and spending real time with my family. This whole experience is just helping me realize and achieve that.”
Joshua ended by telling a story from his time in the Marines that shaped him into who he is today, saying, “I was 20 and still really self-centered. We were on a seven-kilometer march, and I think the lightest pack was about 120 lbs. I cheated by underpacking, and I got caught. They held me accountable, and I was humiliated in front of my peers. Afterward, I had the option to go home, and those same peers kept telling me to quit, but I decided to take responsibility and finish it. Through that, I learned to tell the truth and live with integrity. I was able to mold myself into the person I wanted to be and not the kid I was. And I’ve taken that with me even until today.”
Most who have served understand the vast differences between military and civilian life. The transitions between these two worlds can be difficult and traumatizing. But the chasms between them are bridged by these experiences. The discipline earned translates to careers and academics. Temporary failures build resilience, and successes set the stage for future achievement. Joshua built off all he learned as a Marine, pouring that experience into everything he strives for, from PSU to all his future endeavors.
Phi Sean Phan – Senior
Military Service
Navy: 2015 – 2022
PS2 Personnel Specialist Second Class
Major and Focus
Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management
Many service members find it challenging to transition from rigorous routines in military life to somehow finding themselves back as civilians in what may seem overnight. However, Phi Sean Phan balanced those personas and responsibilities simultaneously. While stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, he attended school remotely while managing 4,050 of the Navy’s greatest resource: its human capital.
Sean is originally from Pensacola, Florida, but he heard about Portland State University’s Human Resource Management program while he was in the service. He says, “I would only take one class per term because that’s all I could afford. Getting tuition assistance while in the Navy was tough, and out-of-state tuition was expensive.” Many, if not all, of these funding programs require at least one credit of in-person classes, making school that much more difficult for many active-duty service members.
Not only did Sean have his regular duties, but he was also creating standards and guides for the entire Southwest Asian region, which includes the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, among other base locations. Included was being the physical fitness coordinator, maintaining Navy fitness standards for all those within his command. “In the Navy, they call these peripheral responsibilities ‘collaterals,’” he explains, “so, I would be on duty, then I would be responsible for my collaterals, but with the time zone differences, I would maybe have a test at 1 a.m., all before having to be up for work again at 6 a.m. But most of the time, professors would give me alternative scheduling because there was just no way. If not, it just meant a lack of sleep.”
Through these years of challenges, Sean’s persevered and made it to the home stretch. In fact, this is his last term as an undergrad. He plans on continuing his education, possibly earning an MBA or Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certificate. But his real passion is to work in human resources. He concludes, “I love what I do. I love helping people get as much as they can in terms of pay and benefits. That’s what I did in the Navy, and that’s what I want to do as a civilian: be for the people. Also, for the company, but more for the people.”
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