‘Nothing is more valuable than meaningful relationships’

May 06, 2026

During his time on campus, Wyatt Carlson was deeply involved in Mizzou Engineering, the fraternity community and elsewhere, creating connections and supporting others.

Wyatt Carlson graduates in May 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a minor in mathematics. His career will begin at Burns & McDonnell with a role as an assistant instrument and controls engineer. He looks forward to complex projects and hopes one day to manage engineers who are ready to tackle anything.

I always wanted to work in a field where I could solve real life problems.

I had my first exposure to electrical engineering when I took a digital electronics course in high school. I loved learning about how circuits and electrical systems have evolved over time to create so much technology that we take for granted. I haven’t looked back since.

Members of 2026 Engineers’ Week Royalty Court — “My most memorable experience was taking part in Engineers’ Week my senior year,” said Carlson, seen here with other members of the Engineers’ Week Royalty Court. “E-Week is filled with such awesome history, fun memories and amazing people.”

Engineering students should have passions in the college and beyond it.

I served as a Mizzou Engineering Student Ambassador — leading tours, Q&A panels and outreach events for prospective students, faculty members and community partners. I was fortunate to serve as Student Ambassador assistant director my junior year and president my senior year. These roles allowed me to support other ambassadors and grow my leadership skills.

An Engineering upperclassman introduced me to the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity when I was a freshman. He showed me that a fraternity could provide an engineer with opportunities for a strong community and values-based network. I went on to serve as SigEp chapter secretary and eventually president, two roles that taught me more than I could have imagined about how to be a leader others are proud to follow.

Carlson’s experiences with Sigma Phi Epsilon included two weeks spent studying philosophy in Greece with SigEps from across the country. From left, Luka Dobrilovic, University of California, Santa Barbara; Matthew Shake, University of Florida; and Carlson.

I also became president of the Interfraternity Council, the governing body for 30 of Mizzou’s fraternities representing over 3,000 young men. This role gave me an opportunity to lead on a larger scale and work alongside exceptional student leaders to align the goals of our member organizations with the vision of the university community.

For three years, I was a recruitment director for MizzouThon, a fundraising effort for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, encouraging individuals and organizations to be a part of our cause. Over my four years at Mizzou, our dance marathon fundraiser has raised over $500,000 for MU Health. My absolute favorite part was getting to know the kids in our miracle family program.

Burns & McDonnell interns — *Carlson, third from right, held two internships at Burns & McDonnell in the Food and Beverage group, which designs and optimizes manufacturing facilities for household brands.*

Lean into your passions and find others who share them.

There is nothing that I am more grateful for than the community of people I have found at Mizzou. The community I found myself in is second to none and has set apart my experience as a student. From Engineering to fraternity life, from the residence halls to Faurot Field, I am proud to be a Tiger and blessed to have had my story shaped by many other awesome Tigers along the way.

Discover more Mizzou Engineering commencement stories.