SASKATOON — “I was very distant from the college during my career, but when my wife, Melissa, became Dean of Library at USASK, she dragged me home after 20 years. That was the year Merlis Belsher Place opened. We got season tickets. Every weekend we sat right behind the bench and watched two hockey games.”
When USask alumni Mike Maguire returned to Saskatchewan after two decades away, he had no idea his passion for engineering and space would collide with a newfound passion for the Huskies.
Born and raised in Regina, in 1987 Maguire graduated from USask with his B.Eng, followed by an MA in engineering and engineering physics with the Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies (ISAS) in 1992.
The first engineering project Maguire ever worked on, for what was then known as the Space Engineering Division (SED), is still located on the USask campus.
“If you go to the engineering building and go three or four blocks north, there's a long building on Innovation Boulevard. If you look at that long building right at one end, there's a 30-foot brick tower with a big 10-meter satellite dish on it. That’s the first engineering project I worked on in my career. I did the system design and helped supervise the construction and procurement of the satellite dish, and all the equipment and radio equipment inside the tower.”
In 1995, following his time with SED, Maguire moved to Montreal to work for the Canadian Space Agency on their spacecraft, launching and flying it for six months.
Over the next 30 years Maguire’s career took him across the United States as a systems engineer with various organizations, including SpaceX.
In between living out his dream of working in space exploration, and while living in Pasadena, he met his wife Melissa, a University of Southern California PhD and future USask Dean of the Library.
“We met in Pasadena around 2002. Married in 2005. She started getting better jobs than I did, so I followed her around the U.S. Then she got a job at the University of Saskatchewan and dragged me home,” Maguire said laughing.
In the years following their arrival back on the prairies, Maguire and Melissa became dedicated and consistent supporters of USask Huskie student-athletes, particularly those pursuing careers in engineering – a field Maguire is deeply passionate about.
In the Maguire family, engineering is a bit of a tradition.
“Dad was an engineer, so I'm an engineer. He had a very good career. Did 50 years of engineering and projects all over Western Canada. He was just an example for me.”
In addition to his father, there were two other very important people Maguire said had a major influence on his drive to pursue engineering and his ability to see it through – his mother and his sister.
“My mother would wake me up for every space launch and we would watch it on this black and white TV in the living room in the middle of the night. One of the first memories I have, when I was five, was watching Neil Armstrong do one small step when they landed on the moon. I loved space travel.”
This love for space travel led Maguire into the world of the famous English science-fiction and space exploration author, Arthur C. Clarke, whom he happened to share a birthday with.
“He had a number of books about children going to space. And so, Arthur C. Clarke, my mother and my dad, got me into engineering.”
Though not diagnosed until 2000, Maguire’s struggles were largely due to living with bipolar disorder, something he talks about very openly with the hope of encouraging others to do the same.
“Some of my classmates were very helpful. But I struggled in school the entire time. I didn't know that I had mental health problems. It was communication with the right people that kept me going. That’s what I would like to emphasize to all students – don't hide it. Find someone you trust and talk to them. Whether it’s another Huskie athlete, a coach or the captain of the team. If you're an engineering student, maybe it’s your study group. Find somebody and talk to them. Make sure you're communicating and engaging with people because that’s guaranteed to help you.”
Maguire also largely credits his wife Melissa, “the best woman I've ever known”, for her ongoing support of him and all the initiatives they both care so deeply about – from Huskie student-athletes to USask engineering students and women in STEM.
When Maguire’s father passed in 2023, he and his family used their inheritance to create an annual award for young women in civil engineering, the Douglas L. Maguire P. Eng. Award.
“My sister was in engineering physics and out of eight of my parents’ grandchildren, five were young women in STEM careers. Dad had daughters and granddaughters in STEM, so we created that award in his name. It was awarded for the first time last year.”
In line with his love for the Huskies, Maguire has also established the Michael C. Maguire P. Eng. Huskie Athletic College of Engineering Award, an annual scholarship awarded to a senior athlete and engineering student.
The 2025-26 recipient was Ella Murphy Wiebe, Huskie Women’s Basketball National Champion and USask mechanical engineering student.
Maguire decided to further enhance these awards by establishing a legacy gift to support future generations of USask students.
In 2025, while thinking about the challenges student-athletes face in managing athletics and academics, with hours on the road commuting to games across the country, Maguire was inspired to purchase and donate a Starlink satellite terminal to the Huskie men’s hockey travel bus.
As a former SpaceX employee, Maguire had some familiarity with Starlink and its capabilities.
“I was thinking, how can I help students? And then I was just sitting there one day and it clicked in my head.”
The bus company, PA Northern, was so pleased with Starlink’s performance, they procured and installed terminals for every bus.
“The bus company bought the new ones, but I’m happy to have started it. Now all Huskie teams have high-speed internet on road trips. I'm just excited that I was able to help them. That I steered the bus company that way.”
Maguire’s passion and support for the Huskies extends beyond Saskatchewan.
This past September he joined Huskie men’s hockey for their pre-season trip to Hungary and in November, along with Melissa, joined Huskie women’s hockey in Vancouver for the weekend, treating both teams to a special dinner out.
He’s also followed both the women’s and men’s teams to playoffs and is a committed fan from his home in Los Angeles.
“I stream hockey games down here. We go to Hungary. We've gone to Vancouver. I went to Calgary when both the men and women were playing in the playoffs there.”
This passion for the Huskies, along with Maguire’s goal of helping engineering students led him to mentor two USask Huskie Women’s Hockey players studying engineering.
From there he and Melissa expanded their scope, providing two exceptional student-athletes with the opportunity to live in California for the summer, interning at The Radiation Team.
Second year electrical engineering student and Huskie Women’s Hockey goalie Clara Juca and second year engineering physics student and Huskie Women’s Basketball guard Gabrielle Kaban, are now in Los Angeles, returning in August.
“I've been retired for 10 years, and everything's changed. The students these days are just so impressive. What they can accomplish now. Things I probably couldn't have done 40 years ago. That's why I want to help interns and get second year students testing spacecraft electronics. That would have been fantastic for me 20 or 40 years ago. It would have really contributed to my career. We’re helping athletes and engineering students, and it just feels good.”
To continue helping is the core motivation behind Maguire’s vision for how he and Melissa plan to continue giving whether with time, financial support or opportunities.
Maguire remembers the people who helped him when he needed it most and wants to pay it forward, as an engineer and Huskie fan.
“I struggled with my mental health and I came out of that knowing people need help. Everything follows that – whether it's mentoring students, donating cash or donating a Starlink terminal. It's just to help people. Engineers solve problems and they create things that help people. And that's all Melissa and I want to do.”
-Submitted by University of Saskatchewan media relations
