Rust in peace: Engineers League features excitement for students at HutchCC

By Mason Poepperling
Staff writer

Sometimes it may seem like there are a lot of extra curricular activities to do here on the Hutchinson Community College campus.

What about something for all those budding engineers out there?Look no further than the Engineers League, a club dedicated to providing applications for engineering students to use with their gained knowledge in the field.

Of course, the Engineers League shouldn’t be confused with a full-on engineering class. The club is more for engineering students looking to apply the knowledge they acquire in the classroom to projects that don’t fit within the timeframe of a regular engineering class.

“The Engineers League is for anyone interested in applying technology to design systems or to solve problems,” said Brian Bird, a HutchCC physical science professor who is also a Engineers League faculty sponsor. This generally would appeal to students pursuing an engineering degree, but may also appeal to other students who have an interest in such things as robotics. I think the main benefits of the engineers league is to gain experience in solving engineering problems, learn to collaborate with their cohorts, and to develop connections with other engineering students and faculty which may help as they move to the four-year university.”

Over the course of a semester, members of the Engineering League decide on one major project before splitting into groups, who then work together on said project. When the semester is over, the groups get to prove their work in one final challenge.

“The goal is that, by the end of the semester, each group will design something for the challenge and we will put them to the test at the final meeting,” said Aaron Geissinger, vice president and co-founder of the HutchCC Engineers League.” “All other meetings are for groups to come together  as a whole and give a progress check to the rest of the club. That also ensures that if a group is struggling we can offer them help or resources.”

“Basically, the whole point of the Engineers League is to be able to do fun projects and not have to worry about the stress of grades,” said Sabrina Nicacio Gomes, sophomore and co-founder.

The Engineers League is a potential entryway for students who are looking to take their engineering knowledge from the classroom into something entertaining and practical.

Anyone who is interested in joining the Engineers League can contact Bird at birdb@hutchcc.edu.

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