Grad students form MechSE United soccer team

1/14/2016 Christina Oehler, MechSE Communications

Written by Christina Oehler, MechSE Communications

 
MechSE grad students may spend countless hours hard at work, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to have fun. This past semester, an extracurricular soccer team of 16 mechanical engineering graduate students, MechSE United, was formed to compete in the Fall II intramural session. 
 
MechSE United was formed by GraMS (Graduate MechSE Students) to encourage busy students to rekindle their love for athletics. 
 
“Soccer, being a world renowned sport, unifies many nations,” said Jose Guadarrama, GraMS Intramural Chair. “MechSE has vast diversity with people from across the globe. Our hope is to create an inclusive environment where graduate students can feel relieved from their daily responsibilities and mingle based on their personal interests.”
 
Guadarrama said the creation of the group has been incredibly successful. There were more students interested than the chairmen anticipated, so they could not accommodate every student who tried out. However, Guadarrama said that if this semester goes well, they will attempt to organize an interdepartmental tournament for the spring semester. If there is an interest in creating a team for another sport or one that is co-ed, the GraMS board is open to helping create those types of groups. 
 
The goal of MechSE United isn’t just to win soccer tournaments, but to also foster a platform for interaction among grad students. 
 
“Most graduate students are timid outside of their natural habitat (i.e. our labs), but by sharing a common interest, our hope is that strong friendships will be established,” said Guadarrama
 

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This story was published January 14, 2016.