Columbia Formula SAE Racing held its first open interest meeting on Monday, September 9 in Pupin 301. Guest writer Zora Day-Friedland stopped by and now recounts her experience.

When I stumbled into the Columbia Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Racing interest meeting, I was a few minutes late, a little sweaty, and quite a bit intimidated. As a lowly humanities major and someone who barely knows what a racecar is, it’s safe to say I was in a little over my head.

I walked into a completely packed room, somehow snagged a seat, and decided it was time to lock in. Luckily, what was on the projector was a delightfully edited highlight reel from their last competition. I learned that every year this club, which has over 100 people, nine different subteams, and a whole lot of brain power, creates one cohesive race car that competes in Michigan at the Formula SAE EV (electric vehicles) Competition. 

After the video and some chit-chat, the club leaders began to go over basic information and what all of the subteams work on.

Although I understood maybe 30% of what was on the slides—yeah, I know what acceleration is—the way every subteam chief spoke about what they do was wonderful. They all showed such passion and commitment, and they were super encouraging and excited about the prospect of new members, STEM and non-STEM majors alike. Even though this was not my area of expertise, I started to settle in and enjoy learning about all the work that goes into conceptualizing, engineering, and racing a Formula SAE car.

After the information from the team chiefs, the club president Calvin Moon (SEAS ‘25) showed us some final slides and had us fill out a quick demographic survey. He then shared some lovely words about his experience in the club that, I’m not even going to lie, almost made me tear up. Calvin took a moment to thank his fellow club leaders and remarked that the community and memories he has made through the club have been the highlight of his college experience. It was deeply wholesome. 

After those sweet words, we were split into groups and led down to the workshop. There, we received a quick tour and got to see the incredible car they built last year. I was so taken by the car, the energy in the workshop, and the general coolness of everyone involved that I almost considered switching my major to engineering. Then, I remembered you kind of need to know how to engineer things to be an engineer. While I don’t think I will be returning to the club, I learned a lot and have a newfound respect for people who build cars. (Guys, it’s so complicated.)

All in all, I highly recommend checking out the Columbia FSAE Racing Club if you are interested in engineering or hands-on building, or if you just want to hang out with cool, brainy people. To learn more about this club, you can email them at fsae@columbia.edu, search on their Instagram @columbiafsae, or look at their website fsae.engineering.columbia.edu, where you can see more information about subgroup meetings happening this week. 

Photo via Columbia University