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Among the 400-plus students who picked up their diplomas at Sunday’s Commencement for the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science were the first two graduates from the Watson College Scholars Program.

The program, which started in fall 2021, offers opportunities and financial support to aid historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged undergraduates who are strong candidates for graduate study and a professional career in engineering or computer science.

It also offers a ready-made support system for students who can rely on their Watson College mentors and each other when things get tough.

“When I first got here, we had a meeting in the first or second week. That was really nice, because I immediately felt part of the campus community,” said Mason Gilbert ’23. “It took a while to get to know people in my classes — I had 120 people in my lectures, so it was difficult to make friends. But with Watson Scholars, there weren’t so many of us.”

Gilbert was raised near Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and his parents inspired him with their careers in electrical engineering. He became fascinated at an early with designing and building things that move. In middle school, he wanted to become a roller coaster engineer, but then he found a new passion.

“The first time I watched Formula 1 on TV, it was mind-blowing to me because I’ve never seen a Formula-style car before,” he said. “I was obsessed.”

After high school, he pursued mechanical engineering at the University of Southampton, located on the south coast of England, because of its connections to the Formula world. Being that far from home facing a rigorous curriculum proved challenging, though, so he returned to New York for some time away from school.

As COVID-19 pandemic restrictions eased to allow in-person classes again, Gilbert wanted to pursue his degree again, and he was thrilled when he was accepted to Binghamton and its engineering program as a junior transfer student.

At Watson, he reconnected to his love for vehicles through the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and he also worked as a bus driver for Off Campus College Transport (OCCT).

“My favorite thing I’ve done has been my senior project,” he said. “I got to work on the bodywork for the Formula student car that we’re building this year. It was such a great experience, and I’m proud of everything we accomplished because it was an ambitious project, but we got it done.”

Like Gilbert, Kaesi Manakkal ’23 grew up with a desire to build things — but for him, the virtual world held more appeal. He had a computer starting at age 7, and he spent a lot of his childhood in Costa Rica learning on his own about Linux and other operating systems.

Moving to the U.S., Manakkal earned an associate’s degree in computer science at SUNY Corning Community College, and then he enrolled at Binghamton to pursue a bachelor’s.

As part of the Watson College Scholars, he liked the camaraderie among the first two cohorts of students — 30 in all for 2022-23. He also enjoyed the networking opportunities with the program sponsors and others, such as a trip to New York City last year that included a tour of Bloomberg LLC.

“It’s been a good experience,” Manakkal said. “The program has given me many more connections than I would have ordinarily had at this school. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of other talented individuals in the field and among my peers.”

Now that they have their degrees, Gilbert and Manakkal are ready for what comes next. Gilbert is considering job offers, and Manakkal will begin pursuing a PhD in computer science at the University of Texas at Arlington this fall.

Both of them are thankful for how Binghamton and the Watson Scholars program helped them on their educational journeys.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had, because not everybody gets those opportunities,” Gilbert said. “I’ve been able to continue and finish my degree at a great school and make some great friends and be involved with people who are passionate about engineering. I really appreciate it.”