To kick off the start of the year, UMD’s Activities Fair offered free food along with an impressive display of clubs that are available to students. There were so many options, it have seemed overwhelming when looking at all of the choices, as there was one for every hobby or major.
Being part of a club or two is great for socialization and networking. For first year students, joining clubs also looks great on a resume. For me, I appreciate the clubs I’ve joined because they’ve helped me with experience, internship connections, and getting active on campus.
One club that strives to combine engineering and design with winter sports is the UMD Clean Snowmobile Team. Started in 2006, this team has competed seven times since the club began and won the Innovation Award, Best Engine Design, and Most Practical Solution.
Team member Jake says, “the snowmobile club is run by undergraduate students who redesign and modify a stock snowmobile each year to improve on emissions, sound, and handling.” The club is comprised of mechanical engineering students, but other majors are more than welcome to join.
Jake describes how the club can benefit future careers mentioning, “We work throughout the year on our own time gaining real life experience to prepare us for the industry when we graduate.” This club not only modifies a snowmobile, they compete by taking the sled to Michigan Tech in Houghton. Michigan. to compete against upwards of 20 other schools from around North America.
Over the last three years, the team placed 3rd, 2nd, and 5th. If you’re interested in being a part of this unique club, they meet on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. in Engineering 280. You can contact the president of the club, Damie Vangstad ([email protected]) with questions.
https://www.facebook.com/umdcleansnowmobileteam/
https://bulldoglink.d.umn.edu/organization/csc
If you’re interested in sailing, UMD has a club for that! From Sailing Club officer Katherine, “The club was started by three sailors who sailed at the Wednesday night races that happen through the yacht club.” Despite the large sailing community in Duluth, these three students thought it was crazy that a sailing club didn’t exist on UMD’s campus. This year is the sailing club’s first year as a sports club on campus.
When the weather is good enough, the club goes sailing every week. You’re probably wondering how the club meets during the colder months. From Katherine, “During the winter and spring when we can't sail, we have Rec Center boat that we are planning to sail in the pool to keep people interested in the club. Our goal is to actually start sailing competitively against other colleges in the coming years!” If you’re interested in finding out the sailing schedule/meetings, contact them here at [email protected]
https://bulldoglink.d.umn.edu/organization/sailing
No matter a student's previous dance experience, ADA offers workshops in the fall for students that run throughout the entire semester. The workshops are free and welcome all experience levels. Shelby explains that, “Workshops are where a veteran (someone who has been in Attitudes previous year(s), choreographs a small combination and teaches it to students who come to the workshop."
In the spring, Attitudes hosts an annual show to showcase the hard work and talent of students on campus. This year will be the club’s 26th show at Ordean East Middle School on Friday, April 17th and Saturday, April 18th. "Our show is always a weekend in April, and we have three different performances: one on Friday and two on Saturday. All of the dances are student choreographed including UMD, LSC, and/or CSS," Shelby says. The shows feature “big group dances, small group dances, solos, duets, and trios. Dancers in the spring show have an hour-long practice, one day a week per dance they are in, people can be in up to a max of three dances," Shelby adds. To find out more contact the secretary of Attitudes at, [email protected]. The club's first kickoff will be Oct. 6th from 10-2p.m. in the small gym!
https://bulldoglink.d.umn.edu/organization/attitudesdanceassociation
https://www.facebook.com/UMDAttitudesDance/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_7oKXbA9k
Scroll through the Bulldog Link page, to learn more about all of UMD's student organizations and clubs.
Top image: The 2018 Clean Snowmobile Team