On March 8, students and faculty from across Mizzou’s campus joined at Francis Quadrangle and held their annual Shamrock Race.
Jesse Hall’s green shimmer signals the return of the University of Missouri’s annual Engineers’ Week. In celebration of engineering academia, the students of the College of Engineering host a week-long celebration with a plethora of community events during the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.
The race is an annual fundraiser event held by the College of Engineering. Each racer pays a $20 registration fee and all proceeds will be donated to Mobility Worldwide MO – Columbia. The run consists of an unofficial 5K track across Mizzou’s campus.
Shamrock Race Committee Head Jordan Fields, graduate student, explained that Mobility Worldwide is an organization that builds mobility devices locally. Fields said the organization’s main purpose centered on giving back to those with disabilities on a global scale.
Last year, the race raised around $3,000 to sponsor a mobility cart.
“We sponsored a cart that was sent to Kenya,” Fields said. “And that was really awesome to see.”
On top of fundraising, the race is a way for competitors and community members alike to get a chance to celebrate their diverse range of studies.
“The fact that we have engineers who are coming out here running this early, running in this cold, and just being here, just to fully immerse themselves in the culture, is just something that I really love to see,” junior Kosh Oduwole said.
Shamrock Race committee member Madison Miederhoff, junior, said that participation is open to all students and faculty across campus, regardless of major and is a great community building opportunity.
“E-Week as a whole is a really big thing for all the engineering students here at Mizzou,” Miederhoff said. “It’s kind of a really good bonding opportunity.”
The E-Week Royalty also made an appearance at the race, carrying their signature shillelaghs, traditional Irish walking sticks, completing the 5K track.
Senior Sam Hirner, one of this year’s runner-up royalty, said the primary role for royalty was to promote and be an ambassador for the Engineers’ Week, acting as a face for the week-long celebration.
“It’s fun to see the same cast of characters at all the events,” Hirner said. “You get to see us here at the Shamrock Race, but you’re also going to get to see us at the Hot Dog Banquet, and then you’ll see us at Skits & BBQ.”
Oduwole compared running to the rigor of many engineering students in STEM classes.
“Just like this race, you just got to keep going, keep pushing, and then you eventually get to the finish line, just like you do in classrooms,” Oduwole said.
