Young Alumni Trustee Mason Smith has a distinctive perspective on giving back.

Mason Smith (BS ’09) is extraordinarily dedicated to his alma mater. He has volunteered as a mentor for students and fellow alumni, serves on the Board of Trustees, and bolsters his volunteerism with generous philanthropic investments, including a recent $350,000 gift to support scholarships and student life.

“Caltech has many strengths that other universities can’t easily replicate.” Smith says. “Our size, for instance, allows for a level of community most others don’t possess. And the honor code is another big thing. It’s not window dressing—it’s a unifying philosophy that the entire community takes seriously. Caltech’s rigorous academic environment, coupled with these other strengths, creates a uniquely engaging student experience that I benefited from greatly, and I want to make sure that opportunity is available for as many other students as possible.”

Smith, who is also a member of the Caltech Associates, was elected to the board in 2021. “It’s been interesting to learn how people who didn’t graduate from Caltech decide to associate themselves with the Institute, and why they’re compelled to give their time and resources,” he says. “It’s given me an even greater appreciation of Caltech as a place that’s of strategic importance to the country, and to higher education in general.”

As a person who did graduate from Caltech, Smith has chosen to focus his time and resources on students. He is vice chair of the board’s Student Experience Committee and appreciates the opportunity to work closely with the student liaisons who are invited to attend board meetings.

Smith also interacts with students through the Caltech Alumni Association’s Tables for Techers program, which convenes small groups of alumni, students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty around the world. In addition, he has offered one-on-one guidance for students during CMS-EE-Finance Mentoring Days.

“I have a very high opinion of Caltech students in general,” he says, “but I continue to be surprised by how impressive and how engaged they are.”

Smith is pleased that his recent gift supports the success of the Initiative for Caltech Students, a fundraising campaign that aims to raise $250 million to enhance every aspect of the student experience.

Inspired to Contribute

Smith first learned about Caltech during his junior year of high school in Muncie, Indiana, when his advanced-placement statistics instructor handed him a pamphlet about the Young Engineering and Science Scholars (YESS) Program. Smith applied and was accepted into the competitive summer program, which brought talented rising high school juniors and seniors from underrepresented backgrounds to campus for three weeks of intensive instruction and hands-on research.

“I had an amazing experience with YESS,” Smith says. “After I learned about the research opportunities available for undergrads, Caltech was my first choice for undergraduate study.”

He matriculated as an Axline Merit Scholar in 2005 and dived enthusiastically into student life. He served as Page House vice president during his first year and president during his third year. He was also a member of the Board of Control, an undergraduate committee responsible for investigating violations of the Caltech Honor Code.

“I don’t think I would have done all of the things I did if I had attended a larger university,” Smith says. “The closeness of the community inspired me to contribute in some way.”

On the academic front, Smith started out as a math major but soon found himself drawn to computer science. He was enrolled in CS 11, a lab focused on programming languages, when a friend encouraged him to change majors. Instead of switching, Smith added a double major toward the end of his second year.

After earning his BS, Smith initially planned to pursue a PhD in computer science. He was awarded fellowships to attend the University of California, Berkeley, but ultimately opted for a career in industry. He now heads software engineering at the quantitative finance corporation TGS Management Company, LLC.

Supporting a Uniquely Engaging Student Experience

Smith’s philanthropic relationship with Caltech dates to his senior class gift in 2009. He quickly followed up with contributions to the Page House endowment.

He was still in his 20s when he created the Mason Smith Endowed Scholarship Fund, which he has supplemented with additional gifts in the ensuing years. He has also supported the First-Year Success Research Institute, a summer program that offers coursework, professional development, and research experiences for incoming first-year undergraduates.

“Some of my giving is influenced by how I got to Caltech,” he says. “Being able to attend your dream school without having to worry about how to pay for it takes an important weight off your shoulders, especially given the rigor of Caltech academics.”

Smith’s most recent gift augments his scholarship and provides funds for the Associated Students of the California Institute of Technology (ASCIT), which oversees student-led clubs in areas ranging from cultural identity, debate, and entrepreneurship to Alpine skiing, origami, Tai Chi, and tango. It also bolsters the endowments for all of Caltech’s residential houses.

“The house communities promote students’ success both academically and personally,” he says. “Obviously, professors want students to succeed, but they’re not making sure students have a social life. The houses are intrinsically designed to help students develop into well-rounded people.”

At the End of the Day, It’s Up to Us

“I can’t be thankful enough for the large donations from people who value Caltech’s mission as a research university,” Smith says. “Those gifts—and we’ve gotten some grand ones over the years—have a huge impact. But the headline gifts tend to be structurally restricted to advance specific kinds of research.

“I’m drawn to gifts that directly support the student experience because, at the end of the day, I think these gifts really are up to alumni and others who have close ties to Caltech.”