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Sophie Rokosz ’21

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer II, Brooks Automation

What initially inspired you to attend NECC? Where were you on your professional/personal journey prior to enrolling?

I initially enrolled in two classes at NECC after I graduated high school in 2015. I believe I withdrew halfway through the semester and ultimately ended up moving to Philadelphia where I worked in several coffee shops as a barista. I spent about four years in Philly before moving back to MA and re-enrolling at NECC for engineering. Prior to NECC, I was really stuck in the mindset that I would never succeed in a college setting. I struggled to finish high school, repeated 10th grade, and found that I enjoyed working more than school. Over the course of my “four year gap year” in Philly, I did math for fun and watched YouTube videos to retain my understanding of tougher concepts. I think that love of math planted the seed that ended up leading me to move back to MA with the hopes to start my education. I had looked into community colleges in Philly, but UMass Lowell has one of the best engineering programs at a public university in the country. Combining that fact with the articulation agreement between NECC and UML that means that the classes are 1:1 transferred, I felt like starting at NECC was a safe investment.

In what ways has NECC helped you on your educational and professional path?

I cannot understate that without NECC, there likely would not have been any educational path for me. When I re-enrolled at NECC, despite feeling excited to study math and engineering, I had little confidence in my academic ability and, at the time, I was working two jobs to support myself and I couldn’t see a path where this actually worked. It is thanks to NECC professors like Doug Leaffer and Liliana Brand, along with my incredible classmates who helped me start to see that I could succeed in engineering. I realized that I was not a bad student; I was just distracted in high school and all the professional experience I had gained in Philly had helped develop the discipline necessary to see this path to fruition. When I was closer to my associates degree being completed, I was able to take advantage of NECCUM classes, where you take classes at UML but pay NECC prices and get credit at both institutions. Then, ultimately, I graduated from NECC and transferred to UML where all of my credits 1:1 transferred and finished BS in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.

I’d love to hear more about your career journey. What led you to your current position? 

After graduating at NECC and enrolling at UML, my number one priority became to find an internship. At the time, I was working at Market Square Bakehouse where I met two of my mentors, Matt Vincent and Bill Messner. Through Bill, I was able to connect with the owner of a local startup focused on developing innovative, bio-based materials. I worked at the startup the Summer before my junior year. I learned so much from that opportunity, but realized that that wasn’t the exact type of work I wanted to do. I knew, at that time, that I wanted to study Robotics. In my junior year, I applied to about 40+ internships for the upcoming Summer. I came across a posting for a Robotics Engineering Intern position at Brooks Automation and I applied. After a phone screen and two interviews, I accepted the intern position at Brooks, where I continue to work today.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

I am currently in the rotational program at Brooks. The rotational program is an accelerated development program where early career engineers work in three different engineering disciplines for six months each before selecting a final position after the 18 month period. In my last year and a half at Brooks, I worked on teams completing mechanical design engineering, manufacturing automation & data science, and software development. I am currently wrapping up my last rotation doing software quality assurance on the software development team. I spend most of my days developing automated test suites to test new software features, creating documentation relating to new test suites, and running tests on our robot controllers. I’m also preparing to transfer to my final role, where I will work as a systems engineer on a R&D team that develops new robotic systems and technology.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Professionally, I could not think of a better place to start my career than at Brooks. Brooks develops robotics used in semiconductor manufacturing in fabrication plants all across the world. This means I am gaining experience covering robotics, automation, and the semiconductor sector. As semiconductor demand rapidly increases, this creates a culture of innovation where our company also has to meet new, challenging customer requirements and develop new technology. It is an exciting time to be working in this sector. Personally, I most enjoy the culture at Brooks. Each day I go into work surrounded by incredibly smart, driven people who are invested in supporting the growth of early career engineers. At each step in my career, I have found only encouragement from my coworkers, executive leadership, and especially from two former managers, Jenn Mangano and Joe Hallisey.

Anything else you’d like our audiences to know about you?

In reflecting on the last six years, since before starting NECC to where I am now, there are a couple things I know for certain. The first is that the idea of going straight from high school to college may not be the best option or be feasible for many students. The second is that, even though I did the work myself, I came across some fantastic mentors along the way whose experience helped guide me on my path. These mentors were essential to my success. While I do not yet have a lifetime of experience in engineering to offer, I care very deeply about supporting students pursuing careers in engineering from NECC, especially those who may be years removed from high school or are facing unique challenges.

Each month, the NECC Alumni Office shares interviews with our accomplished graduate population through its alumni newsletter. If you have a story to share and would like to be considered for a future edition, please fill in an Alumni Update Form or email alumni@necc.mass.edu.