It’s never too late to get involved. Mariah Alexander found that out on her first day of college at Oregon State.
“I joined the SAE Collegiate Design Series team as soon as I got to campus,” Alexander said. “I literally knew no one at school, and I thought it would be a great way to meet new people.”
The SAE Collegiate Design challenges students to design and fabricate a Formula SAE vehicle. The teams work on the vehicle over the course of the school year, before venturing to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., to compete in the competition.
“Being at the competition was surreal,” Alexander said. “Michigan International Speedway is the fastest track in NASCAR and to actually be on that track was amazing.”
The competition featured 120 teams from colleges and universities all over the world. Teams came from as far as Germany and Brazil to compete, but in the end, Alexander found herself on the winning side, as Oregon State took home the trophy.
“I think that our team definitely earned it,” she said. “We worked hard to get where we are, and want to be the best at what we’re doing. I am proud to be a part of the team.”
As an electrical engineering major, Alexander understands this experience will have a profound impact on her career. Being a freshman gave her the chance to immerse herself in the working of the vehicle. The competition counts toward the senior project for students, so freshmen generally do more learning than working.
“These may seem like small tasks, but they are leading to bigger tasks for me,” she said. “Like for next year’s car I will be making, or maybe help making, but hope to be making, the wiring harness.”
While it may have been a learning experience, Alexander is quick to admit that she enjoys just being around cars. Her inspiration to get involved in this particular team wasn’t only about making friends.
“I have always been interested in cars and thought that actually learning what goes into making a moving vehicle would be awesome,” Alexander said. “I grew up loving vehicles. Both my parents ride motorcycles, and we attended car shows all of the time. I didn’t hear of these sorts of competitions until my senior year of high school, but of course it wasn’t too late.”
Alexander is planning to continue with the team and plans to compete in next year’s event as well. And while the competition was fun, Alexander sees the long-term effect winning this competition can have.
“This competition is definitely helpful for college seniors in engineering looking for a job. I plan on being around to see if it can happen for me when I’m a senior,” she said.
