ISE Alumni Council honors lost member through memorial scholarship

Mason Gaston, a valued member of the Auburn University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering’s Alumni Council, lost his battle with cancer on Sept. 20. To honor his memory, the ISE Alumni Council has established the Mason Gaston Memorial Scholarship.

Dan Traynor served as council chair when Gaston originally joined in 2021.

“Mason had just moved back to Auburn from Greenville, and he was just so excited to be back in Auburn,” Traynor said. “He was excited to be able to come back and be a part of the Alumni Council.”

After learning of Gaston’s passing, Traynor and current council chair, Debbie Flint, began discussing how the council could honor Gaston. They knew it should be a reflection of Gaston’s love for Auburn.

“We thought a scholarship would be such a great way to honor Mason,” Flint said. “Mason loved Auburn, and this is a way to have his legacy live on in such a meaningful way and keep his memory and love for Auburn alive.”

Gaston earned a Bachelor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and a business minor from Auburn in 1995. He later went on to earn a Master of Science in Government Information Leadership from National Defense University in 2011.

Gaston had a varied career in both industry and government. He served in various roles for Lockheed Martin's Pike County Operations, ultimately leading their continuous improvement efforts as the Lean/Six Sigma Manager.

He worked as an engineer for the U.S. Air Force for 15 years. Throughout that time, he served as the chief architect for the Electronic Systems Center and as course director for Air University’s Eaker Center for Professional Development. As course director, Gaston led the planning, curriculum development, faculty development and instruction of the Air Force’s Continuous Process Improvement Blackbelt and Senior Leader Courses. These courses provided students with the knowledge required to implement an overarching Air Force-wide methodology of continuous process improvement.

Most recently, Gaston worked as a senior model-based systems engineer supporting digital engineering initiatives on various Air Force, Army and Navy programs.

The Mason Gaston Memorial Scholarship is accepting donations through Jan. 31. To give, visit Auburngiving.org//Gastonmem. The scholarship will be awarded in the spring to one or more Industrial and Systems Engineering students in good academic standing.