Conner Mason

For Conner Mason, one of the most defining moments of his engineering education didn’t happen in a classroom — it was on a shrimp farm in Vietnam.

As part of Arizona State University’s Engineering Projects in Community Service, or EPICS, program, Mason worked on a team focused on improving shrimp farming practices. After months of research and prototype development, he traveled with his team to Vietnam to see the challenges firsthand and test their ideas in a real-world setting.

“Seeing the farms in person really changed my perspective,” Mason says. “Many farmers were struggling because of environmental changes, and they didn’t always have access to the information or tools they needed.”

The experience reshaped how he thinks about engineering and its role in the world.

“It showed me that part of our job as engineers is to create solutions for people whose work is focused elsewhere,” he says.

Mason, a mechanical engineering student in School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU, came to the university looking for the opportunity to explore different paths within engineering.

“I wanted to study engineering in a place where I had more options than ideas of what I wanted to do,” he says.

He found that flexibility in mechanical engineering, a field aligned with his strengths in math and science that allowed him to work on a wide range of systems and challenges.

“When I compared my engineering classes to my other classes, it was clear what I enjoyed spending my time on,” Mason says. “That’s when it clicked.”

Through experiences like EPICS, Mason applied what he learned in the classroom to real-world problems, gaining a deeper understanding of how engineering makes a tangible impact.

After graduation, Mason will remain in the Phoenix area, where he has been hired at Amphenol Industrial Operations. He currently works there as a lead quality inspector and will transition into a quality engineer role.

Looking ahead, he plans to continue using his skills to address real-world challenges.

“I want to be someone who helps solve problems that make a difference,” he says.

Favorites

Band: Goose
Movie: Pacific Rim and Inception
Sports team: Denver Broncos
Game: Minecraft
Geeky possession: My collection of band t-shirts I’ve collected from concerts that I have attended

Read about other exceptional graduates of the Fulton Schools’ spring 2026 class.

Written by Erik Wirtanen