Carnegie Mellon University is known to many as a "nerd" school, which to some people seems like a negative association. "Nerd" is often a pejorative, meant to make someone feel ashamed of being passionate about something, especially if that something is out of the mainstream. But here at Carnegie Mellon, our nerdiness is more of an all-encompassing passion and drive; we are hard workers and big thinkers, and when we put our minds and hands to something, we make it happen. Here are some of the best representations of that drive for success:
Carnegie Mellon's student-produced fashion extravaganza entered its twentieth year this past Saturday, Feb. 13. This event is the product of months and months of planning and preparation by student producers, co-ordinators, models, designers, dancers, and tech crews, and it sells out nearly every year. This year's Gala was met with an audience of over 1100 people from both the school and the surrounding area. It's truly an experience to watch all of this planning and hard work come together for a single night's event. One of the most exciting aspects of this event is that it's not just costume designers who create clothing lines; we also see neuroscientists, computer scientists, and architects, among others. It's truly an all-encompassing interdisciplinary event.
Scotch 'n' Soda is the second oldest student theatre organization in the nation; founded in 1907, the organization puts on student-written and popularly published productions alike. Personally, I have always been quite impressed with Scotch as an entity. They are one of the largest campus organizations, and they are one of the most innovative. In over 100 years, they haven't been able to secure themselves a theater (until the University Center reconstruction is finished this coming Fall), so when they reserve an auditorium for one of their shows, they prefer to build their own stages. A single Scotch production has on average at least 50 students working in various capacities, from directors to actors, stage managers, lighting technicians, sound and stage designers, the whole nine yards. Some shows come out better than others, but overall, the experiences have been positive, and the Scotchlings' passion has made them a very notable organization.
Carnegie Mellon's award-winning student newspaper has been mistaken as a professional newspaper before, and for good reason. Editorial staff members alone work an average of eight to 15 hours for each weekly issue. T week's culminating event is Sunday production, in which all of the editors will get together in the office and put together the paper itself for about six to eleven hours, depending on the week's challenges. Every Monday, the cycle resets, and the news machine keeps on chugging. The Tartan has five paper sections and a couple of different staffs which comprise editing, business relations, photography, page layout, and even our sister publication, Dossier, which is a biannual arts and culture magazine. The Tartan staff comes from all walks of life, and while we work toward a single goal, our members range from engineers to designers to writers, like me.
While this isn't an annual or particularly historical club, CMU Hyperloop is an incredible example of our students' passion, drive, and capabilities. SpaceX's Hyperloop is essentially a competition among engineering groups all over the world to design a super speedy pod which will be able to travel at about 760mph, able to make the 386-mile journey from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, CA in about 30-mins. I had the privilege of writing a few articles about this team for various publications, but long story short, they're intense. They have a team of over 70 students, from graduate-level to freshmen. One of the largest qualities that differentiates the CMU Hyperloop team from competitors is that they have a core team of engineers, but also a design and business team, each of which have their respective skillsets and additions to the overall project. The team is currently raising money so that they can prototype their pod for the finals in California this June.
Carnival is a Carnegie Mellon tradition which involves massive projects by individuals and organizations alike. Buggy teams work throughout the year to develop fiberglass shells, or buggies, which they race down a big hill during this season. These buggies contain compact human pilots (i.e. people 5' and under) and are propelled by human pushers (big, strong peeps). It's a huge event, and alumni as well as current students adore this tradition. It's also super intense; people get really, really into it, and while it's kinda scary in many ways, it's also super exciting to watch.
Booth is an event where organizations build little houses, or booths, for visitors to enter and experience. Booths can range from single-room enclosures to multiple-story structures with running water/electricity/minigolf courses/gaming consoles. It's a true experience, since these buildings are quickly constructed, and then torn down immediately after. Both of these events really speak to our students' intensity and drive to create.
While much of our learning occurs in the classrooms, I believe that a super important part of our education are the extracurriculars into which we spill our free time. At each event's heart, it's all about creating something amazing, creating an experience, giving everyone involved a certain voice and level of creative freedom. In general, Carnegie Mellon students have a drive and a passion to create, of which, I relish being a part. This school truly is an experience, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
