“Every day I carry a little part of MSOE with me, which in turn impacts another generation of students.”

This year, Travis Thul ’06 is being honored as MSOE’s Alumnus of Year for his outstanding career achievements as a leader in higher education and for his dedicated service to his country. 

His humble beginnings started in the rural northwestern town of Cumberland, Wisconsin. As a first-generation student, the idea of even going to college seemed daunting to Thul. “Both my father and grandfather were tradesmen - not engineers by training, but engineers at heart. Their influence, combined with my own idiosyncrasy towards taking things apart, inspired me to pursue a profession in engineering.”

Thul enrolled in Fox Valley Technical College’s Associate of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology (AS-EET) 2+2 program. That decision marked a pivotal moment in his life that would introduce him to his mentor, friend and MSOE professor Robert (Bob) Strangeway.

“Bob was the first university professor to really invest time into me. Back then, the 18-year-old version of me had no idea what college was, what my career could be and what the future might hold. Throughout my journey, Bob has been there for me, helping me get where I am, and has never stopped teaching me.”

After transferring from Fox Valley to MSOE and earning his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology in 2006, Thul was accepted into UW-Madison’s Master of Science in Electrical Engineering program and served as a research assistant at the Wisconsin Electrical Machines & Power Electronics Consortium. After two years in Madison, he joined the United States Coast Guard (USCG) as a direct commission engineer in 2008. The fourth generation in his family to serve his country.
 
“My father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all served. All my uncles, my stepmother and two of my aunts did as well.”
Being stationed near Washington, D.C. led him to work for the USCG’s Telecommunication and Information Systems Command (TISCOM). While at TISCOM, he managed a team of civilian engineers and was responsible for deploying satellite communications systems and incident command posts. This role sent Travis across the northern hemisphere, including the Bahamas, Guantanamo Bay and Hawaii, as well as deploying in support of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.
 
After four years at TISCOM and another year at USCG Headquarters, Thul moved to a reserve role working on marine power systems. He was offered a role at the Federal Communications Commission, leading their wireless power transfer research, as well as an adjunct faculty role at the Community College of Baltimore County. Although juggling three jobs (and patenting a small kitchen appliance called the "Ramen Now!", Thul reflects on that crazy time with fondness.

After eight years in D.C., another door opened, one that would take him back to the Midwest, to serve as Dean of Technology for Minnesota State College Southeast (MSCS). “This opportunity gave me a chance to bring my family closer to home and to pay forward the gifts my educational leaders had given me.”

Thul says the next few years were filled with some of the most impactful work he’s ever done. “I launched programs in prototype engineering, bicycle design and fabrication, construction technology, software engineering technology, and signed Minnesota State’s most ambitious engineering technology transfer program.”  A program that would benefit his alma mater.

In 2017, Thul initiated and developed an educational transfer agreement between MSOE and MSCS for students to easily transfer to earn their bachelor’s degree at MSOE. “Students who enroll in two-year community and technical colleges are often first-generation learners with little to no exposure to higher education. Transfer programs provide a critical bridge for these students. Having experienced the life-altering impact transfer programs can have, I felt it imperative to bring this revelation to Minnesota.”

During that time, Travis also stayed active, giving back to his community, working to bring a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing lab to life and helping the USCG with relief efforts for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and Hurricane Florence on the East Coast. It was these deployments that resulted in him returning to active duty with the USCG to help plan the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee and then contribute to the COVID-19 response.

In 2020, Thul served at USCG Sector Milwaukee, giving him the opportunity to partner with the Secret Service, the FBI, Milwaukee Police and other critical security stakeholders. “We spent months planning for every scenario and working to ensure every senator, former president and delegate would be safe from potential catastrophe.”

While much of his work during this time was spent in the security space, his team also completed work on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for wireless power transfer, which he considers the "pinnacle" of his engineering career.

It was around this same time Thul learned about the White House Fellowship, where he’d serve under Donald Trump during his first term in office. He was beyond honored when he received the call to work for the president of the United States.
“I will always remember receiving the call telling me that President Trump was appointing me to serve as a White House Fellow. It was a Friday evening, and the White House program office director told me the program would change my life, and it did.”

That following year was the most formative of Thul’s life. Thul served in industrial policy and economic security with the Export-Import Bank (EXIM). In this role, he worked on the Abraham Accords and launched EXIM's Program on China and Transformational Exports, among other achievements.

Following his appointment, he was offered the opportunity to help lead the Technological Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota (UMN). At UMN, he built new graduate programs, established coalitions for semiconductor manufacturing and electrification, and led workforce development initiatives. Concurrently, Minnesota’s governor appointed Travis to both the state Board of Engineering and its Board of Electricity (where he would serve as a senate-approved member).

After three years at the UMN, he received an offer from Minnesota’s second-largest university, Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU), to build out their industrial partnerships and student success initiatives. In his current role as vice president of student success and engagement, he leads workforce development, career services, advising, small business development and student success units.

He was also promoted to Commander and now serves as a Senior Reserve Officer with the USCG, where he deployed in support of Hurricane Helene recovery efforts last fall. He has partnered with an angel investor who is helping launch the “Ramen Now! ”, and his ANSI standard has been adopted by the FCC and their Canadian counterpart.
Through his amazing career journey, he says none of that success would have been possible without the support of his family and the valuable lessons learned at MSOE.

“MSOE means the world to me. It taught me to lean into the uncomfortable and face hardship as a team. It built a pathway for a kid from a trailer house to find his way to the White House. I am immensely thankful for my wife joining me on all these zany adventures. She has given me two amazing boys and a life I am truly thankful for every day. To her, my mother, my father, my grandparents, and all those who have supported me – I am forever in your debt.”