Meet 2026 UBCO BASc, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Jason Schultz
After earning a Physics degree and spending several years reflecting on his next steps, Jason Schultz chose to start a new chapter at UBC Okanagan. Drawn to engineering as a way to apply his passion for science and mathematics to real-world challenges, he found opportunities to pursue solar energy research, gain industry experience, and contribute to student design teams. Along the way, Jason built lasting friendships, developed as a leader and mentor, and discovered how engineering can create meaningful impact.
As he graduates with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, Jason reflects on his journey, the experiences that shaped him, and the advice he hopes to pass on to future students.
What initially drew you to UBC Okanagan and the School of Engineering?
Several years ago I had obtained a Physics degree, but poor grade performance limited my options as pure physics seemed to require higher education beyond a bachelors degree. After years of contemplating and reflection I decided to continue my education with engineering.
I felt like UBC Okanagan could help serve as a fresh start: moving from my home province of Alberta to the beautiful scenery of Kelowna combined with a smaller campus (compared to larger ones like University of Alberta or UBC’s Vancouver Campus).
I chose engineering both as a way to continue in a technical and mathematical field that I have enjoyed while also looking at pursuing a career in the clean energy industry and help contribute to mitigate climate change.
How did the community (classmates, professors, mentors, or campus life) shape your experience?
Deciding on coming back to University life in my thirties was daunting. Could I keep up? Am I wasting time and money that could otherwise be spent building a career elsewhere? This was compounded with heading into my first year during Covid, where I would need to also have to learn in an online environment.
Thankfully, the community that I joined quickly subsided a lot of those fears. A big shoutout to Michael Bell for the setup of the online community for us first years to easily collaborate from all across the world, and to Matthew Hinchliff for all of our close collaboration since first year.
Joining the UBCO Aerospace Club shaped the majority of my campus life when arriving in person. Some of my closest friends were forged through our shared struggles and late night fixes to get our drones flight worthy before competition.
Did you participate in co-op, undergraduate research, or other hands-on experiences? How did they shape your path?
During my degree I did academic research through 2 NSERC USRA awards working for Dr. Alexander Uhl at the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Fuels where I designed and coded a sample holder to perform maximum power point tracking for perovskite solar cells.
Jason Schultz working on the fabrication of a perovskite solar cell at UBCO.
I also did two eight-month co-op terms working at different clean energy companies: Rayleigh Solar Tech, a perovskite R&D company in Halifax and General Fusion, a nuclear fusion R&D company in Vancouver.
Finally, I was a part of the UBCO Aerospace Club’s UAV competition team where I participated in three competitions and got to work on designing different quadcopters and helicopters in addition to exposure to leadership and managing teams.
These technical and hands on experiences helped me grow as a future engineer and as a person.
Can you share a project, course, or professor that had a lasting impact on you? Why?
Dr. Uhl had a strong impact throughout my degree as joining his lab allowed me to be exposed to research within clean energy, which ultimately allowed me to take my first steps into the industry with my co-op at Rayleigh Solar Tech.
Additionally, Dr. Sepehr Mosadegh serves as faculty advisor for the UBCO Aerospace Club and had an impact on changing my mindset in my senior years within the club from how I can best gain from the club to how can I best out others reach their potential in the club. Our conversations on leadership and mentorship remain very meaningful to me.
What are your plans after graduation?
My short-term plans are to focus on gaining work experience, but ultimately I want to pursue a career in either clean energy or the drone industry.
What advice would you give to future or current engineering students?
The biggest advice is to make the most out of your time at university. Talk to professors that are in fields you’re interested in; maybe you can end up working for them. Aim to get those co-op work experiences.
For me, personally, what I recommend most is joining a club or design team. This is where you get to first experience applying what you have learned to real life projects. Not only will it help set you up for better co-op opportunities, but the people you meet and work with can possibly end up being your closest friends in school.
UBCO Aerospace Club’s UAV Team at the 2025 Aerial Evolution Association of Canada’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Student Competition in Medicine Hat, AB.
Thankfully as the years have progressed, more design teams continue to form at this campus, so it is much easier finding a project that you can be passionate about.
I can speak from experience having gone through university by both minimizing and maximizing what I got out of it, and it’s my hope that future students don’t make the mistakes that I made my first time around.