Meet the Navy veteran connecting service academy grads with opportunities for life after the uniform

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BlueMagnet, founded by a former Navy officer, connects service academy graduates with advisors and peers who can help them transition into civilian life after their time with the armed forces.

Cedric Williams II, a 2020 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, is building the platform he wishes existed six years ago.

Launched in the summer of 2024, the LinkedIn-like BlueMagnet is designed to replicate the connections, camaraderie and network that support service academy members while they’re wearing the uniform — but all too often, deteriorate in the years after they transition to civilian life.

“People who raise their right hand and put their life on the line for our country [have to] rely on each other — the environment fosters [that need],” Williams told The Post. “BlueMagnet [mirrors] that proximity and makes it easy for people to give back around their own time and knowledge.”

The platform works by connecting service academy graduates with advisors and peers online and at in-person events. Users share their goals and experiences when signing up, and BlueMagnet recommends advisors who can help.

“It’s an open platform leveraging the entirety of the Academy network and all the nodes that stem from it,” Williams said. “As a grad, you can go in with any question, any need, and find exactly the right person to connect with.”

The project was inspired, in part, by the support Williams found at the Naval Academy after initially struggling.

In the seven-week boot-camp–like run-up for incoming freshmen, Williams lost 20 pounds. He went from being a star athlete in his hometown of Itta Bena, Miss., to being the lowest man on a totem pole taller than any he’d known before.

“We were all swimming in the same direction,” recalled Cameron Hurd, a classmate of Williams’ and teammate on the track team.

Hurd and Williams grew close throughout their four years at the Academy and stayed in contact after graduation despite being stationed on different continents — the former as a surface warfare officer in Japan, the latter as an officer aboard the USS Carter Hall. That sustained friendship was something of an anomaly.

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