For California native John Yeager, the most valuable thing he learned from his time with MATE wasn’t how to build an ROV or make it run. The lesson that has stuck with him, he says, is how to take a complex problem, break it into smaller parts that others can understand, and lead a team to a solution.
These are skills he still uses every day in the U.S. Air Force. While many MATE alumni—and most of his teammates, in fact—go on to study engineering, John opted for the Air Force Academy. He graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s of science degree in military science and is currently stationed in New Mexico working in intelligence. While he couldn’t share much about his day-to-day responsibilities, he noted that everything he learned from MATE about public speaking and leadership helps him a lot.
“A lot of those skills have been applicable in my career in the military,” John said. “Whatever career field you decide to go into, the confidence that comes with that is a big boost.”
John got involved in MATE in the fifth grade. His parents learned about the program and decided to put together an independent team, composed of a lot of John’s friends. They went to their first competition in 2011 and came in third place—and John never looked back. He competed every year from fifth grade through his senior year of high school.
His forte was less the engineering side of actually crafting the vehicle, but more organization and leadership. What was the best way for his team to function, and how could he help them do that? He still volunteers to work with teams and as a judge when he gets the chance and loves coaching kids on the importance of good communication and coordination among the team.
“You can perform so much better in your presentation in the water just based on teamwork and soft skills,” John said. “You can have two teams with the same technology, the same vehicle, but the team that works well together, encourages each other, and is well organized can vastly out-perform the team that doesn’t.”
While all the pool time and travel to cool places were definite perks of the competition, John’s favorite part of MATE was the chance to grow more confident and competent with each passing year.
