From Baja to blacksmithing: Francis Rogers builds his future at Montana Tech
Most mechanical engineering students graduate having built a few projects. Francis Rogers is leaving Montana Technological University having built multiple off-road race buggies, managed a fabrication shop, and crafted multiple medieval-style pieces of armor.
When Rogers walks across the stage at Montana Tech’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9, 2026, he’ll take with him more than a degree. He’ll carry years of hands-on experience shaped by long hours in the shop, leadership on the Baja SAE team, and a drive to create.
Originally from Powell, Wyoming, Rogers came to Montana Tech following a family path. His brother earned an electrical engineering degree from the university, and his father completed a master’s in geochemistry. For Rogers, though, the decision to study mechanical engineering came down to opportunity.
“There’s just a really varied career path,” Rogers said. “I can do whatever I want with a mechanical engineering degree.”
That mindset quickly translated into action. Early in his time at Montana Tech, Rogers joined the Baja SAE team, a student group that designs and builds an off-road vehicle to compete against universities from around the country.
“I pretty much just walked over during Club Rush, joined, and I never left,” he said.
By his sophomore year, Rogers had taken on a major leadership role, eventually serving as project manager and treasurer. In recent years, the team struggled to consistently make it to competition due to design issues, funding challenges, and limited continuity between teams. This year, Rogers helped lead a turnaround.
“We actually have a really great team, and we made it happen this year,” he said.
After months of work and thousands of combined hours, the team successfully built and ran their vehicle—something that hadn’t happened in previous years.
Beyond Baja, Rogers became a central figure in Montana Tech’s student fabrication space. For the past three years, he has served as the student shop manager in the Natural Resources Research Center, maintaining equipment, managing tools, and helping other students bring their projects to life.
“I just make sure everything’s working and help people figure out how to do things,” he said.
Balancing that responsibility with a demanding mechanical engineering course load wasn’t always easy.
“It took a little bit of time management, and trying to balance classes with running a club and doing projects,” he said.
His hands-on approach extended beyond campus as well. Rogers completed two summer internships in Williston, North Dakota, working on research and development for oilfield chemical products. After graduation, he will begin his career with Talen Energy at the Colstrip power plant.
Even with a full schedule, Rogers always found time to build—sometimes in unexpected ways. What began as a joke about wearing a knight’s helmet to a wedding turned into a full-scale fabrication project. He designed and built multiple helmets for his brother’s wedding party and has since started working on a complete suit of armor.
“I thought, that doesn’t look too hard to make,” he said.
He’s now about a third of the way through the project and plans to continue metalworking and eventually get into blacksmithing after graduation.
Looking back, Rogers says Montana Tech delivered an experience that went beyond what he expected.
“I think I got the long end of the stick as far as college goes,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of friends at larger universities, and they didn’t have the same experience I did, with hundreds of people in their classes. At Montana Tech, you actually get to know your professors, and you get to do a lot more hands-on work.”
That hands-on experience is exactly what he encourages future engineers to seek out.
“Get involved somewhere you can actually build stuff,” Rogers said. “It makes you a much better engineer.”
As Rogers prepares to graduate, he leaves Montana Tech not only with technical knowledge, but with the experience of leading complex projects, solving real-world problems, and building—from off-road vehicles to suits of armor—skills that will carry into whatever he creates next.