Florida Tech’s Scholar-Athlete Spotlight Recognizes Rower Mason Yaskovic

Yaskovic is an intern for Northrop Grumman in their Aeronautic Systems division

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Being a scholar-athlete at Florida Tech takes an incredible amount of hard work and dedication to excel both in the classroom and on the field.

In this Scholar-Athlete Spotlight, we are featuring Florida Tech men’s rower Mason Yaskovic.

This summer, the Rockledge, Florida native is gaining meaningful experience at an internship in his desired field.

We caught up with Yaskovic to learn more about the incredible opportunity.

What company are you interning for this summer? What was your title and role with the company?

This summer I’m interning for Northrop Grumman in their Aeronautic Systems division. Currently, I am working to support the Systems Engineering Team under the Strike program.

What drew you to this internship?

Melbourne has a wealth of engineering firms located locally, but the prospect of acquiring government clearance to work on classified projects was undeniably the driving force behind my pursuit of this position.

As a Mechanical Engineering major, anything to do with jet propulsion or airframe structures is right up my alley.

What are some exciting tasks that you have been able to be a part of?

Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of the work we do, I’m not able to give a description of what it is we work on.

I can say that as a systems engineer, I get the unique opportunity to work with many different teams within the program in collaborative efforts to achieve a common goal.

Essentially systems engineers ensure that the work each team is doing respectively will work together well when they come together. This has given me the opportunity to not only see what life is like as a systems engineer, but also the ‘big picture’ aspects of other positions as well.

How is your internship preparing you for a career you would like to do after graduation?

I feel that my time interning is preparing me very well. This is my second summer interning with Northrop Grumman, and last year I was asked to continue working part-time through the school year.

Allowing myself the extended time with the same team of engineers has given me a really good look at what will be required of me upon graduation when I do go on to become a full-time engineer (likely at Northrop Grumman).

What is your major at Florida Tech? Why did you choose this direction for your education and is this something you always wanted to pursue?

I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at Florida Tech, as has always been my goal. I grew up with both parents as STEM majors, with my dad taking multiple leadership roles in NASA at the Kennedy Space Center.

Growing up in the midst of rocket launches, behind-the-scenes tours, and other various gearhead hobbies my dad has introduced me to, it has always been my goal to become an engineer.

What skills did you acquire at the internship that you plan to bring back to help lead the men’s rowing team?

The major takeaway I have from my internship revolves around structure. In systems engineering, the entire job is about forming clear cut plans across multiple teams to achieve a common goal.

I feel that now, as a 4-year collegiate rower and senior on the team, I can take more of a leadership role to introduce more effective structure into our workouts, recoveries, and mental strength.

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