Mark McGriskin (B.Eng 2019) was the kind of kid who鈥檇 go behind the hardware store counter to see how a new key was cut. 鈥淚 was curious how they made the shape of the key, stuff like that 鈥� mechanical, tangible stuff,鈥� he says. Though he grew up in small town New Jersey, he and his Canadian parents tagged 捆绑SM社区鈥檚 Faculty of Engineering as a good option for someone whose favourite high school classes were physics and calculus.
Mark鈥檚 first year of university had a lasting impact. 鈥淛ust living alone, waking up and coming to class and seeing thousands of other kids doing the same thing. It was intimidating at first and very stressful, but looking back it was the best, so exciting and new.鈥� He loved meeting students from so many places. 鈥淚n the real world you鈥檙e working with people from different countries, different languages, so having that diverse experience is very important.鈥�
For the first time, Mark felt deeply challenged in school. He also saw a chance to develop real-world skills through the Faculty鈥檚 many student design teams, which tackle projects such as making robots, Formula Electric race cars, or concrete canoes.
Hands-on design
Mark got involved in the , where students design, build and race a single-seat off-road vehicle within one year for a competition. 鈥淚t looks like an ATV with a roll cage and steering wheel,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 for jumps and mud and snow and rocks, not for going super-fast.鈥� Or at least, not in as precise a manner as the Formula cars. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little more rough-and-tumble and suspension-focused as opposed to maximum speed.鈥�
Professor Larry Lessard, Baja faculty advisor for 30 years, likes helping the students. 鈥淭hey learn an important combination of several skills including engineering, management, teamwork and leadership, all of which can help in their future jobs,鈥� he says.
The first year on Baja you show up once a week to learn how it鈥檚 done and see where your interests lie, Mark explains. 鈥淪econd year I did the frame that we design ourselves. We ordered the steel tubes and we welded them together to make the backbone, the skeleton of the vehicle.鈥�
Later that year he stepped into one of the leadership roles, and for his third, he was team captain of the roughly 60 students who worked on the project. He was in daily contact with a core dozen for the planning, manufacturing and problem-solving. Mark likens it to running a small start-up company, including being responsible for budgeting for parts and machinists.
鈥淏uilding a vehicle? It鈥檚 as hard as it sounds,鈥� he says. Baja is like an apprenticeship in which passing down knowledge is key. 鈥淪omeone held my hand, and I held someone else鈥檚 hand, and so on.鈥�
Summer internships
Interspersed with school and Baja were his summer internships. Students can get paid experience in their field through the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering programs (SURE) or the Engineering Internship Program (EIP). (Though if a student wants to fast-track straight through their classes to the job market, that鈥檚 possible, too.)
Mark鈥檚 first internship was with an automotive company in Detroit. For his second internship, Mark approached the 捆绑SM社区 Institute of Aerospace Engineering for help. After a rigorous application process, he landed a spot with Pratt and Whitney doing supply chain management.
These early internships were intimidating for a 20-year-old, Mark says. 鈥淲alk into a company of thousands of people who really know what they鈥檙e doing? Just try to listen more than you speak and work as hard as you can,鈥� he advises.
The internships broadened his skills from those he learned in the classroom. 鈥淭here's no calculating shockwave location or finding the mach number at exit, but really working with people. It's an art of its own. Crafting concise emails to get your point across, but then not to take up too much of someone's time -- the soft skills,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou're not designing mission-critical stuff; it's trying to learn as much as you can and see how people work together.鈥�
Working in Montreal
Since he loved Montreal, Mark looked for work in town after he graduated. University connections led him to , which manufactures electric off-road vehicles such as snowmobiles and personal watercraft. (Some of the engineers who founded the company were on other 捆绑SM社区 design teams and shared a space with Baja.)
鈥淚 started off doing the frame for the snowmobile, very applicable to what I was doing on the Baja,鈥� Mark says. As the company grew from prototypes to production, Mark transitioned to a role in which he helped figure out who was going to make the parts, and where.
Deciding he wanted to see how a bigger company does procurement using a well-established supply chain, Mark reached out to his former internship boss at Pratt, where he is now a procurement specialist. 鈥淢y job is working with suppliers, and I have a certain number of parts that I鈥檓 responsible for making sure they come in on time and get on to engines.鈥�
At Pratt, he currently uses soft skills over technical skills, but hopes to use both in the future. 鈥淭here鈥檙e a lot of negotiations, talking to people, trying to convince people to do stuff they don鈥檛 want to do,鈥� he laughs. 鈥淔ewer calculations of numbers.鈥�
Advice for prospective students
In his last year at 捆绑SM社区, Mark pulled back from Baja, instead volunteering to be design team rep for the Engineering Undergraduate Society, to have more time to participate in the downhill ski club and play hockey. And also to hang out with his youngest brother, whom he convinced to come to 捆绑SM社区 to do Mechanical Engineering. (Ryan graduated last spring, and yes, he also worked on Baja.)
What advice would Mark give prospective students? 鈥淏e yourself, have fun. Don't be afraid to go outside your comfort zone and meet new people. You'll make a lot of friends and a lot of great memories鈥�. Put yourself into your extracurriculars and your classes and try to befriend professors and learn from them.鈥�