What's up with Olin Clubs? Part Two

Welcome to Part Two of our blog series “What’s up with Olin Clubs” where we introduce you to just a few of the MANY Olin clubs offered on our campus. Last blog you heard a bit about Rockets and hydroponics. Now hear more about racecars, coffee, and what belonging looks like at Olin.

Our students love being busy (in a fun way) and they want to share with you what’s up! 

"Hey, I'm Dexter, a sophomore here at Olin. Alongside my co-leader Dokyun, we run Olin's Acronym coffee club. Every Wednesday morning we open a pop-up coffee shop in the school library, and prepare free coffee for the student body. Besides being a fun venue for everyone in the club to prepare and serve coffee, it also helps bring the student body together. As a huge fan of all things coffee, Acronym was one of the clubs I was most excited for going into Olin, and the act of making coffee has become a core part of my Wednesday mornings. (A side bonus of Acronym is I can use the club's espresso maker to make my own late-night espresso anytime I want!) 

Besides trying out new coffee recipes, my favorite part of Acronym is talking with everyone that comes to the library. On an average Acronym day, we serve about a quarter of the student body, which means we get to talk with a lot of people. As a result, the community born from coffee becomes the core driver behind Acronym."

"Hello! My name is Melissa Kazazic, and I’m a senior at Olin majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I’m also the current Project Manager (captain) of the Olin Formula SAE Electric team, also known as Olin Electric Motorsports. Our team works together to build an all-electric formula-style race car to compete against other teams around the world!

When I joined the team as a freshman, I had little exposure to electrical engineering and even originally thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. Through my projects and mentorship on the team, I went from never having designed a circuit board to leading our High Voltage Systems subteam and designing the High Voltage Battery Management System. My favorite thing about the team is that we give first-years critical design projects starting from their first semester on the team! This is an awesome learning opportunity and allows returning members to take on mentorship and leadership roles. Another thing that I find absolutely amazing is that every single part of the car was, for the most part, designed and manufactured by someone on the team - from our 400V modular battery pack, to our high-voltage safety system, to all of our low-voltage electronics, to our chassis, to our suspension, and so much more - all providing huge learning opportunities for everyone on the team. And in general, it’s been a really awesome group of people to hang out with, who all support each other, while also doing fantastic design work! 

 The highlight of the season is our competition. In June, we take our car to the Michigan International Speedway along with 74 other teams to compete in timed events, design evaluations, and complete a rigorous technical inspection. Last time, we brought over 30 members and it was amazing getting to hang out together, work on the car, and meet all the other teams!"

Check out the team on the following social media platforms: Website: https://www.olinelectricmotorsports.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olinelectricmotorsports/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OlinElectricMotorsports/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/OlinFormula 

(For the more curious) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-ZoKMbYeJBoWvnEObJZuDg 

“What’s good, my name is Camilo, I’m a Colombian first-gen student, sophomore at Olin, and current VP of the MIX which is the Multicultural Innovators Experience. 

I got introduced to the MIX by one of my close upperclassmen friends - Moises - who was president of the MIX at the time. He introduced me to the club, and it ended up being a great way for me to get to know a lot of cool upperclassmen, which was a struggle for me as a first-year. Getting to know some of those upperclassmen helped me gain more connections and pathways for guidance when it came to career-oriented advice.  

Being a new member last year, the MIX was a low commitment club at first, but as time went on, I looked forward to the Monday lunches and the our weekly meetings. Looking back at my first year, I remember the MIX most for all of the fun stuff we would do like screen printing MIX sweaters and tote bags, playing games in the Common room on the projector, writing Valentine’s Day notes to my friends, and watching the World Cup during lunch!  

All in all, I really hope this club continues to be another place where anyone (especially first-years) can find a group of people to connect and develop with during their time at Olin like I have.”