2009 has started off with a bang here for us on the canoe team. With much of the necessary materials amassed, we're mixing, building, fixing, and breaking something nearly every day down in the labs.
For those interested in taking part of the team this year, it has just begun and now is the time to join. Monday and Tuesday evenings we get going at 530pm, Friday we get a few hours in starting at 1pm, and Saturday we start at 11am. With a work estimate just shy of 2000 total manhours, we could use the reinforcement. Currently we've got about 8 guys and girls working steadily on the team, with a few more members working their way in. We try to keep everyone on the team busy, but like many things in life you only get as much out of it as you put in and you'll need some initiative.
The hardest part of this team is the fact that it is long hours and often tough work, without an obvious academic benefit. Many schools have Concrete Canoe branched out of a class, but most school just have clubs struggling for funds and volunteers. Drexel Concrete Canoe is much more than some simple club however, we've got a long history of looking out for each other and positive faculty relations. I joined the team because I was frustrated with engineering school being little more than classrooms, books, and pencils; I wanted to get my hands dirty. 2 years and many busted knuckles later, I know more about concrete than most of my peers and I've got better grades compared to years prior. Concrete Canoe is opportunity, a chance to get more out of Drexel than a framed piece of paper that set you a $100K in debt. Power tools, advanced concrete technologies, sweat, and dirt are all just the parts that make the uphill walk home end with a cold beer. The works hard, the hours long, but I know at the end of the year, after a hundred and ten percent, I will say it was worth it, and you will too.
Here's a quick glimpse at next year's christmas card:
It looks like it's snowing in the labs, which it appears to have on numerous occasions throughout break. Our test mixes are moving along, as well as construction for the incoming mold. So we'll be down there quite often.
Next Meeting: Tuesday 530pm, Woodring Lab
Reminder: ASCE YMF Winter Social Monday, at McGillians
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