Margaret Malmquist-West grew up thinking a STEM discipline would be too difficult and feared being alienated in the male-dominated engineering community. At 28, after spending years working in various education and service jobs, she began the daunting process of returning to school. This meant going back to take lower-level math and science courses—and completing GE requirements—while working full-time.

In 2020 at the age 31, Margaret enrolled at Cal Maritime, where she is majoring in mechanical engineering and pursuing a merchant mariner credential in marine engineering. She is on the President's List for outstanding academic performance and plays on the intercollegiate women's soccer team.

Margaret works part-time as the COO at Girls Who Click, a nonprofit that empowers female-identified and non-binary youth and teen girls through nature photography workshops.

After completing her degree, Margaret plans to join the Coast Guard Reserves while working as a design engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area.