Alumni Spotlight - Mitchell Sueker (EE 20)

Nothin' but net

Mitchell Sueker's a winner both on and off the court

When Mitchell Sueker was a first-year student-athlete at Mines in 2017, he was asked why he was proud to be a part of the Hardrocker Men’s Basketball Program. His response was, “I’m proud to be a part of a family that challenges themselves in the classroom as well as on the court. We strive to be great in many areas of life, in addition to basketball.” 

It was pretty evident that while he was committed to being a great basketball player at Mines, at the forefront of Mitchell’s mind was his ability to excel in multiple aspects of his life. 

Now, at just 25 years old, you can tell he took that to heart. After graduating from Mines in just three years with his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, Mitchell went on to the University of North Dakota for his master’s degree and doctorate in biomedical engineering, which he plans to complete this year. And he’s done it all while continuing to play college basketball. 

During his time with Mines, Mitchell was recognized as a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, a two-time RMAC All-Conference honoree, and a two-time RMAC All-Academic First Team selection. 

Eric Glenn, his former coach at Mines, remembers Mitchell as being extremely gifted, both athletically and intellectually.

“He also has a tremendous work ethic and a great ability to prioritize his time efficiently which has afforded him tremendous opportunities to excel at a high level in athletics and academics," he added.

It’s these qualities that led to his recent selection as a 2023 Tau Beta Pi Laureate due to his athletic accomplishments. Tau Beta Pi, The Engineering Honor Society, selects laureates who have excelled in areas beyond their technical majors – athletics, arts, diverse achievements and service. He joins a group of just 117 who have been named since the program began in 1982. 

In a recommendation letter, Mitchell was described as “a credit to the engineering profession and an impactful contributor to any endeavor he pursues” and was commended for balancing academics, service, and varsity athletic participation for the past six years.

Coach Glenn said the program couldn’t be prouder of him. 

“He is without a doubt one of the best student-athletes to ever wear a Hardrocker Basketball uniform,” said Coach Glenn. “He was such a great player, student and person in our basketball program, and it doesn’t surprise me that he has earned this honor.”

Even though Mines didn’t have a biomedical engineering degree when Mitchell was recruited to play basketball, there was something else about Mines that was more important to him.   

“Mines really stood out to me,” he said. “They had me sitting down with professors and really made me feel welcome - like they wanted me there. The faculty also seemed very knowledgeable, and you could tell they were passionate about what they did.” 

He landed on electrical engineering as the foundation for graduate degrees in biomedical engineering, a field he decided on after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Being around hospitals a fair amount, he knew he wanted to do something to advance the medical field.

His current research involves using spectroscopy and machine learning for food safety purposes. He has already published two journal articles and is on route to publishing a third. By now, he knows a little bit about his personal style and how he works most efficiently. 

“My first year at Mines was really good, but I was trying to take on too much on my own,” he said. “As I aged, I found other people in my major who were intelligent and studious. Having people to work with helped me a lot because it would sometimes save me from going down a rabbit hole and wasting my time. Learning how to collaborate with other people was a big thing for me.” 

While he said he’s always been a very driven person, he knows relationships and connections are invaluable to helping students like him be successful. 

“You don’t get an award like this on your own – you have to have connections and people who are looking out for you,” Sueker said. “I loved my time at Mines. I had really great professors, I loved my teammates, and it was just a good community to be in. I’m really thankful for everyone who helped me.” 

Now that he’s almost finished with his schooling, Mitchell is pondering his next step.

“I’m considering playing professional basketball overseas, or going into industry, maybe in biomedical devices. But someday I might be open to teaching. Who knows, maybe I’ll want to come back to Mines and be a professor.”

That sounds great to us. 

Mitchell with his family after his last game at UND.