Mason Grimshaw never envisioned himself walking across the stage at his college graduation. Now, having recently received his bachelor’s degree in business analytics and poised to start a master’s program in the same field, he can’t imagine himself anywhere else. And it all started with a game of cards.
Growing up on the Rosebud Reservation in Mission, S.D., Grimshaw spent many hours playing cards with his grandparents. In the small town of only 1,000 people, playing cards was a way for Grimshaw to indulge his passion for games and spend quality time with his family. It was through these games that he came to realize that everyday problems could be turned into games and analyzed, which interested him greatly.
When he wasn’t playing card games, Grimshaw was watching both his grandfathers excel in their chosen careers — his Grandpa Byrd as a rancher and his Grandpa Greg as the owner of a Napa Auto Parts. Grimshaw’s parents worked hard and taught him from an early age the importance of always giving his all. “I get my work ethic from my parents and grandparents for sure,” he says. “My parents were very important in teaching me that I could do whatever I wanted in life, so long as I gave it 110 percent.”
For Grimshaw, that didn’t necessarily mean going to college. “College wasn’t very important to me at the beginning of high school,” he says. “Coming from Rosebud, college was some nice idea that I had heard about, but I didn’t view it as critical to the success of my family. My grandpas were very successful without college, and my parents were nontraditional students who finished their college work later in life.” However, being at St. Thomas More High School in Rapid City, S.D. — a private high school with a focus on preparing for college — changed his mind. At the end of four years of high school Grimshaw was set to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge.
Initially, Grimshaw found MIT’s rigorous environment intimidating, and he wasn’t sure he would make the cut. While those feelings of inadequacy faded as he did well academically, personally he faced many more challenges. “When I was a freshman, my mother needed a new kidney,” he says. “As a sophomore and junior, I suffered two spontaneous collapsed lungs, and then our family suffered two unexpected deaths at the end of my junior year, going into my senior year.”
Determined to persevere, Grimshaw relied on his friends in AISES and in his fraternity to help him succeed. “I was very active in my fraternity, Sigma Nu, and held many positions in the internal government there, including vice president,” he says. “And AISES gave me an incredibly tight-knight and supportive community at MIT. Finding a community like that is really important when you’re in a stressful environment and so far away from home.”
Connections at AISES also helped Grimshaw land an internship at Intel, where he spent last summer before heading back to school this fall to pursue his master’s degree at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. “I love using statistical analysis to create and improve systems,” he says. “I love creating models for real-world situations, and predicting outcomes and improvements for those situations. Majoring in business analytics has taught me the techniques that make that analysis possible.”
In such a demanding and competitive field, Grimshaw is excelling. “I have a strong belief in maintaining a growth mind-set,” he says. “Mentally, there’s nothing I can’t do with enough preparation and work.”
While he is unsure of exactly where he wants his career to go after he finishes school, Grimshaw does know one thing: “I want to be financially stable to the point where I can support my immediate and extended family,” he says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support, and paying back the favor, in whatever small ways I can, would mean a lot to me.
With his family’s love, guidance, and views on success, Grimshaw is primed to succeed. “My parents taught me that my goals could be whatever I want, so long as I strive to complete them,” he says. “They’ve supported me at every juncture of my life, and they do the same for my siblings. The freedom to choose our own paths, and their support once we’ve done so, has been absolutely critical to my happiness as a human being.”
As Grimshaw begins graduate school, he knows that his drive and determination will see him through. However, he wants others to know that you don’t have to do it alone. “I’m not afraid to ask for help, and I’m very open and honest about my current state in life, as well as my current understanding of different course materials,” he explains. For Grimshaw, no goal is out of reach, and finding your own definition of success is half the battle. “Do what you love, and do it well. Success looks different for everyone,” he says. “Your version of success is out there — you just have to find it!”
