Engineering week concludes with egg drop contest

Utah State University wrapped up Engineering Week with an egg drop contest hosted by several clubs, including the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Engineers Without Borders, Society of Women Engineers, oSTEM, Tau Beta Pi Honor Society and the Engineering Tutoring Center.  

Stations were set up in the engineering building, equipped with the materials needed to protect a fragile egg. Attendees constructed their protective gear out of plastic foam cups, cotton balls and balloons.  

KJ Segura, the president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering.  

“The E-Council decided to combine a bunch of clubs to do one big event,” Segura said. “We all took the reins on the project.”  

The Engineering Council at USU manages clubs and events in the engineering department.  

Segura said the coronavirus had an effect on club attendance.  

“SHPE was a club that was really significant at the college pre-COVID — once it hit, all the clubs hit a decline,” Segura said. “It wasn’t until this year until we decided to restart the SHPE chapter here at USU.” 

SHPE’s goal at USU is to empower Hispanic and Latino students in the engineering field through leadership skills and service opportunities.  

An egg that cracked after being dropped from the balcony of the Engineering Building.

The Engineering Tutoring Center was at the event to help host. The center offers support and guidance for students in math, science, writing and programming courses. 

Landon Hendricks is a tutor at the center.  

“I went to the meeting for this event when it was first being planned,” Hendricks said. “I love being an engineering tutor. I really like helping people — just being able to see that light of understanding appear is an awesome feeling.” 

Engineers Without Borders was also there to help host. EWB focuses its resources on humanitarian-based initiatives by emphasizing technical knowledge, volunteering and outreach.  

In the summer of 2023, a team from EWB went to Peru to implement shelters and to see how they could better respond to the community’s needs. 

Gabby Gowen, a junior studying environmental engineering, is the president of Engineers Without Borders.  

USU student Ethan Black’s egg protection device falls from the balcony of the Engineering Building.

“We have two projects in Arizona and Peru right now,” Gowen said. “We’re doing portable alpaca shelters in Peru, and then we’re doing water systems in Arizona for a boy scout camp down there. These are the kinds of opportunities that our club presents to people. It’s important to get involved with work outside of Utah State University, but then it also allows us to connect with other students at events like this one.”  

Gowen said the egg drop activity was ultimately a success.  

“We wanted to do something that would catch people the minute they walked into the door,” Gowen said. “It was a good idea because it builds on the creativity a lot of engineers have. We’ve been working with all the college clubs because we have very interdisciplinary groups, which is really cool because anyone within the different types of engineering can get involved.”