Engineering Club holds first meeting of semester
Troy University engineering students are stepping outside the classroom to build new skills, professional connections and a stronger community within the university’s growing engineering program.
The Engineering Club held a meeting Tuesday night to introduce students to the organization and discuss future activities, including a long-term project to construct a working replica of BB-8, the spherical droid from the “Star Wars” franchise.
Club President Chase Pittman, a junior electrical and electronics engineering major from Dothan, Alabama, said the organization gives students a chance to meet others with similar interests while developing practical engineering skills.
“The main thing is just to help students meet other students in the program,” Pittman said. “A lot of us tend to be very antisocial people. We’re trying to help people get out of their dorm rooms or their houses.”
The proposed BB-8 project would require students to combine multiple areas of engineering, including electronics, programming, three-dimensional printing and mechanical design.
Pittman said the project is not only about producing a finished robot. It would also provide students with an opportunity to learn from one another while applying concepts outside the classroom.
“It’s really cool to see the skills that I’ve learned and be able to pass them on to new students,” Pittman said. “We can give them the knowledge that I gained in my time here.”
For sophomore electrical engineering major Aiden Franklin from Prattville, Alabama, the club offers experience that cannot always be gained through lectures and assignments.
“There’s only so much you can learn in a classroom,” Franklin said. “Some things have to really be learned hands-on.”
Franklin said the BB-8 project could introduce him to subjects he has not previously studied, including 3D printing, while helping him become more connected with other engineering students.
“It seems like a great chance to not only get to know my fellow engineers but also get to learn a new skill along the way,” Franklin said.
He said projects of that scale could also help showcase the capabilities of Troy’s relatively new engineering program.
“It shows what we can do as engineers,” Franklin said. “I think it’s really important for us to make these leaps, showing that we can do stuff, and it really gets our name out there.”
Will Rutherford, a junior by classification and a sophomore in the electrical and electronics engineering program from Eufaula, Alabama, transferred into engineering after previously studying business.
Rutherford said his interest in technology developed after he began experimenting with long-range night vision as a hobby. He joined the club hoping it would help students across different classifications become familiar with one another.
“We’re a small program, and it’s good to know each other,” Rutherford said.
He said those relationships can also become valuable as students search for internships, employment and other professional opportunities.
“The biggest thing as engineering majors of any kind is connections,” Rutherford said. “Who you know is what determines if you’re just a name on the paper or if you’re someone who gets an interview.”
The club is also open to students outside the engineering program. Rutherford said non-engineering majors can meet people from other academic backgrounds, learn new skills and find another reason to become involved on campus.
He said the club also challenges the misconception that engineering students are quiet or engineering work is boring.
“You have fun, and it’s a sociable place for the most part,” Rutherford said.
As the club recruits members and begins planning its future projects, Pittman said students interested in participating can find additional information through the Troy Engineering Club’s Instagram page.
“We’re always looking for new members to come and join us,” Pittman said.
For more information on the Troy Engineering Club, you can follow them on Instagram @troyengineeringclub.
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