Riley Mathieson

Riley Mathieson balances her mechanical engineering studies with a figure skating career that takes her as far away as Texas and Georgia for national competitions. 

“I always get back on a Sunday, right in time for Monday classes,” says Mathieson, a Merrimac native who has been skating since she was around 2 years old. 

So when Mathieson was applying to colleges, she knew she needed a school with an ice rink. 

“UMass Lowell had a skating team, and also a great engineering program that drew me to it,” she says. 

Mathieson serves as co-president of the Ice Hawks, UMass Lowell’s figure skating and hockey cheer club team, with her friend Payton Hickson. 

“Since freshman year, I knew I was interested in a leadership position,” Mathieson says. 

Mathieson and Hickson have been able to grow the club’s presence on campus with nearly 30 members, the most in its history. 

Mathieson has known she wanted to study mechanical engineering since she was 15 years old. Her grandfather, a mechanic, used to take her to New England Dragway, a racetrack in Epping, New Hampshire. There, she developed a fascination with cars. 

“I remember asking one of the mechanics, 'How can I get into this?’ He suggested mechanical engineering,” Mathieson says. 

In the summer before her senior year, Mathieson landed an internship with MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory research program, a highly competitive program that offers hands-on research experience for undergraduate and graduate students. 

“When I started that internship, I realized how much UMass Lowell had set me up for success,” says Mathieson, an Honors College student who is continuing the internship during her senior year. 

Not only does Mathieson balance school, internships and skating, but she also serves as public relations officer for the university's Rocketry Club, in which students design, build and test-launch high-power hobby rockets. 

“The Rocketry Club is such a great community that welcomes everyone,” she says. 

Mathieson holds a Level 1 high-power rocketry certification and, with that, is organizing Project Pink Rocket, the club’s first all-women-led rocket, for Women’s History Month. 

“We want to create an environment where women feel welcome, so Project Pink Rocket is exciting,” says Mathieson, who often collaborates with the Society of Women Engineers, hosting movie nights and other fun activities to build community. 

Mathieson plans to go on to graduate school. She is interested in vehicle design — one of the passions that led her to mechanical engineering and UMass Lowell. 

“I want to make the world a better place and be part of designing better things,” she says.