Edwin B. Powers '07

“At the end of my sophomore year, Mrs. Fran Gombac [English teacher and then moderator of the student newspaper] gave me a chance to be editor-in-chief of the Prep when I showed zero signs of any potential,” Powers says. “My first staff meeting was a hilarious flop. And over the next two years, I was never any good at leading a staff—but the lessons I learned through those failures, and her wise guidance throughout, were the root of everything I have jumped into since.”

“He absolutely slogged through that first Prep meeting,” Mrs. Gombac remembers. “But he had every ear, every heart and everyone's dedication by the end. And he worked and then he worked and then he worked some more. I can never say enough about what a boy, and now a man, Teddy is. He had the best friends and is the most devoted and the kindest man—even as a 16- year-old kid—that I have ever met. He is Loyola Academy, and I am grateful for the time we had and the gift he remains to me.”

A great example that leaders are made and not born, Powers has come into his own and written extensively on the topic of leadership for the Marine Corps Gazette, the professional journal of the U.S. Marines. His article “Would You Follow You?” won first place in the 2015 Gen. Robert E. Hogaboom Writing Contest. Then, in 2016, he nabbed a second-place finish with “Fatherhood as Leadership,” a piece that honors the legacy of his late father Christopher B. Powers.  

After Loyola, Powers attended the University of Maryland, where he studied English and communication, and he’s currently finishing a master’s in management, strategy and leadership from Michigan State University. As we look to celebrate Veterans Day on Saturday, November 11, the Loyola community honors Captain Powers and all the Ramblers who are or have served in the United States Armed Forces.

Catch us up on what you've been up to since graduation. 

I attended Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in 2010 and commissioned in May 2011. After The Basic School and some follow-on training, I checked in to 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Southern California. With them, I deployed to East/Southeast Asia and northern Australia. I finished my tour with “1/5” two years ago, then moved to the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center high in the Eastern Sierra-Nevada mountains. I am currently the Headquarters company commander and supply officer. 

How was your experience at Loyola formative in your path?

My experience at Loyola was foundational in everything that has come since. The lasting legacy of a Loyola education is a belief in our collective interdependence—that we can paddle faster and farther with more oars. Loyola also shows us that a life spent in pursuit of greater meaning and influence is inherently more interesting and rewarding than a life spent in pursuit of greater fortune. Being a Marine Corps officer is a vocation that humbles me every day, challenges me to grow as a “man for others” and allows me to learn from exceptional men and women. 

 

Mrs. White taught me how to write in her E129 class sophomore year. Her ability to show us how to construct an argument—and her insistence on the pursuit of perfection—has opened up many doors since. Being able to write persuasively allows us to speak persuasively, and an overall ability to persuade allows us to have more influence.

 

At the end of my sophomore year, I began my tenure as editor-in-chief of the Prep. I was never any good at leading a staff—but the lessons I learned through those failures, and Mrs. Gombac’s wise guidance throughout, were the root of everything I have jumped into since.

 

In addition to those two, the faculty and staff as a whole, with too many influencers to name, was inspirational to me. It’s no coincidence that I ended up choosing to be a teacher, of sorts, as my profession. The Jesuit insistence on the development of the whole person is shared by the Marines. The Marine Corps expects its leaders to have a relationship with their Marines resembling “that of teacher and scholar,” as an old general named LeJeune wrote. I feel lucky that at a young age I was exposed to so many examples of teachers who went to great lengths to develop their students.

I celebrated at the reunion in Chicago, reconnecting with a lot of old friends. My best friends in high school are still some of my best friends today, so we’ve celebrated weddings, mourned at funerals and everything in between. Tim Miller ’07 is the director of communications for a professional sports team. John Graham ’07 designed the iPhone app for Venmo. The others are doctors and dentists or they have achieved similar successes in their own fields. But at the reunion, I saw many people I had not seen since graduation. Seeing them, as if the intervening time didn’t pass, affirmed for me the depth of the kinship Ramblers form with each other. It’s the kind of deep affinity for each other that will endure to the 20-year reunion and beyond.

What’s next?

I’ll get a new assignment next summer, either back to the Operating Forces or to a professional development school for captains. When the Marine Corps doesn’t want me anymore, I’ll probably try a different branch of government. My long-term goal is to be at least half the man my late father was. His example continues to propel me on my good days and my bad days.