Sparking that Mac Eng feeling with Mac Eng Reignites – Faculty of Engineering

Sparking that Mac Eng feeling with Mac Eng Reignites

McMaster Engineering recently held a week-long series of events that brought over 2,000 staff, faculty and staff together.

group of students walking through orange powder.
By MEGGIE MACDOUGALL

With the return to a fully in-person semester this fall, McMaster Engineering celebrated with a week of engaging events for the community.

The hustle and bustle of campus at the start of a new semester was made even more exciting with the return of Mac Eng Reignites, a week-long series of events that brought over 2,000 staff, faculty and staff together. 

In collaboration with the Engineering Grad Society (EGS) and McMaster Engineering Society (MES), we planned a range of events: a hike through Cootes, free food truck fare, a dunk tank featuring our own brave Dean, Heather Sheardown, and more!

Heather Sheardown goes down into the dunk tank as the successful student thrower cheers in the background

Here are a few highlights from Mac Eng Reignites. 

Food Trucks 

Reuniting students with free food was a top priority. Choosing from 23 flavours and a variety of toppings, the first day of class was made a bit sweeter with ice cream from Crazy Cravings. Then to cap off the week, students could choose between Kono Pizza Cones or a chicken sandwich from Dirty South to feed their hungry minds.  

Cootes Hike 

A group of Mac Eng students were led on a hike through the Cootes trails behind McMaster by Noah Stegman, from Nature@McMaster. Learning how to tell the difference between Virginia Creeper berries (poisonous) and wild grapes (yum) and smelling skunk cabbage (very stinky) were just a few nature highlights. 

Prize Wheel  

There’s no better way to start the year than by upgrading your Mac Eng gear! After spinning the prize wheel, our students were rewarded with swag like fanny packs, bucket hat pins and magnets, tattoos (temporary of course) and Mac Eng Proud t-shirts.  

Fireball Family Feud 

To encourage our Fireball Family to connect with the community and with others in their department, the MES and EGS organized friendly challenges that pitted each department against each other in a Fireball Family Feud!  
 
Each day, students would participate in challenges on behalf of their department, which lead to a final faceoff race! The winning department, Computing and Software, are now the proud owners of a 3D printed fireball trophy. 

One of the most popular activities was the dunk tank! After donating to a fund that supports Forcibly Displaced Students and Scholars at Mac, participants threw a ball to test their aim. Dean, Heather Sheardown, MES and EGS execs and faculty members courageously volunteered to be dunked. We are thrilled to share that we raised $500.