Cal Poly Alumna Mahalin Gross Shares HVAC&R Career and Leadership Advice
Cal Poly alumni Mahalin Gross shared how the Mechanical Engineering program’s Sustainable Technology for the Built Environment (HVAC&R) concentration helped prepare her for a career in mechanical contracting. The concentration gives students meaningful HVAC&R experience before entering industry.
Mahalin began two internships as mechanical contractors, first estimating, then in management and engineering. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she joined MacDonald-Miller full time as an estimator, focusing on conceptual estimating. She later rotated through special projects, new construction, tenant improvement builds, and field project management before advancing from project lead into project execution. Mahalin explained that HVAC&R careers can take students to design firms, contractors, or consulting roles, Cal Poly also develops an entrepreneurial mindset by teaching students to recognize opportunities and create value wherever they work.
Her advice to students centered on three ideas:
- Become a subject matter expert, be sponge, find mentors, take on challenging assignments, and build a reputation as someone others can rely on.
- Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Look for gaps that no one else owns, say yes to opportunities with exposer potential, and use every gap as a chance to learn. As Mahalin said, “Growth come from taking responsibilities before you officially have a title.”
- Mahalin encouraged students to grow from individual contributors into leaders. Leadership means focusing on the team’s success, influencing outcomes without direct authority, proposing solutions, and training others to fill the roles you leave behind.
Moving into management brings accountability: the team’s quality, deadlines, and mistakes ultimately fall back on the leader. Rather than simply fixing someone’s mistakes, Mahalin recommends coaching them through it. Her perspective is a helpful reminder for students entering the field: “It’s okay that I am wrong, I’m just not asking the right questions.”
