Funworld October 2009

Industry-specific engineering groups are popping up on American college campuses—and these students have their sights set on breaking into the business

by Jeremy Schoolfield

Designing roller coasters for a living is more like a little kid’s dream than a promising career ambition. Everyone who creates attractions for this industry knows how hard it is to get into the business in the first place.

“There’s a better chance of being an astronaut than a coaster designer,” quips Michael Graham of Cincinnati-based design firm The Gravity Group.

But those long odds aren’t stopping a growing number of young engineers in the United States from giving it the ol’ college try. In fact, right now they’re trying harder than ever.

The Ohio State University (OSU) is home to the Theme Park Engineering Group, which, as the name clearly states, is a collection of about 25 students who want to apply their love of parks to their studies. Their hope is to eventually break into the industry as professionals.

Just 2 years old, Theme Park Engineering is already spawning sister organizations at the University of Cincinnati, the University of Toledo, and elsewhere. These groups are talking about forming a national organization— sort of a one-stop shop for attractions industry manufacturers and suppliers on the prowl for interns or young employees. They appear to be tapping a well of talent and dedication that could shape the future of the business.

Theme Park Engineering: The Group That Started It All
Brad Okeson started the Theme Park Engineering Group in spring 2007 with a simple e-mail to the OSU College of Engineering, asking if there were any other coaster enthusiasts in the department. Though he had “no idea” if his plan would work, he probably shouldn’t have worried: Located in Columbus, Ohio, the school is within easy driving distance of some of the most popular parks in the United States.

Okeson, now a senior with plans to pursue his master’s engineering degree at Ohio State, is also the group’s president and leads a core executive team of seven dedicated students.

“In engineering, sometimes it gets grueling,” says Dan Linden, another founding member who graduates in March 2010. “Theme parks are the most fun application I can think of. You have a choice of joining all these standard groups—aero or cars—or you can choose to work with roller coasters. It’s like being a kid again. It’s doing fun stuff as a way of learning engineering.”

Though they don’t get any course credit for their work in the group, every student member interviewed by FUNWORLD says participation helps them translate what they’re learning in the classroom into a working language they understand and love.

“I learned through this group I want to do project management—because that’s what I do for the group,” Linden says. “It’s almost to the point where I don’t care where I’m working, as long as I’m managing people and getting projects done—I’ll enjoy it. I learned a lot about myself through working with this group—where I am and where I want to be.”

Besides working on several longstanding projects (see sidebars), the group also visits regional parks to speak with their engineers and get a better feel for the inner workingss of the beloved thrill machines. When the group goes on these trips, it’s serious business.

“We’ve never gone to a park just to ride rides,” Linden says.

“We went to Cedar Point in the middle of winter and it was freezing,” says junior Eamon Kelly, recalling a trip when the classmates viewed the “Top Thrill Dragster” engine room. “We got to see what actually happens [beneath the ride]. You can go online and research to try and figure it out, but they tell you how it actually works.”

More Groups Spring Up All the Time
Ohio State’s Theme Park Engineering Group paved the way for similar organizations at neighboring schools, namely the Coaster Cats at the University of Cincinnati and the Theme Park Engineering Group at the University of Toledo. Okeson says he’s also heard rumblings of groups forming at Purdue University and on both the East and West coasts.

“People wanted to do this, but they thought it was impossible,” he says. “Once they saw it actually done, they thought, ‘If they can do it, we can do it.’”

There’s been such an uptick in interest, Okeson is trying to establish a national organization called the Collegiate Amusement Park Association, in hopes of unifying everyone under one banner.

“It just seems like a waste to have all these groups popping up in different schools and not being able to communicate— it becomes a community,” Linden says.

Okeson hopes the groups will use their different skill sets to complement one another’s work. Ohio State, for instance, specializes in mechanical engineering, while Cincinnati has a strong civil engineering department; both of those are important to theme parks, of course. “It’s all about collaboration, us helping each other out,” Okeson says.

Jeff Piggrem is president of the Toledo group, which he founded earlier this year after returning from a seven-month internship at Walt Disney World that was “the most amazing time of my life.” Piggrem met with Okeson and Tyler Campbell, head of the Cincinnati group, to pick their brains about starting his own organization. At his first meeting in the spring, Piggrem had more than 60 interested students.

“It gives people a goal,” he says of the rationale for starting a group. “They’re finding ambition. They’re interested in something, versus just going through the motions [of school].”

“It’s cool seeing that passion and drive,” Gravity Group’s Graham says. “When you get together as a group and target your interests, you can accelerate them so much quicker than you could on your own.”

“This isn’t just fanboys—there is a legitimacy to this interest that goes to a professional level,” Piggrem says.

Students Realistic, But Hopeful
The students in these groups are quite aware their chances of working in the attractions industry full time as coaster designers— or in any other capacity, for that matter—are slim, but they remain undeterred.

“The amusement industry is tiny—getting a job or career in there is going to be extremely tough,” Kelly says. “But it actually is possible to have this be a career, so it’s worth a shot.”

They see these groups as “an opportunity,” Piggrem says— “a place to start,” adds Linden. They go outside their studies to work on projects that will enhance their resumes (see sidebars) and use the added import of their organizations to demonstrate their intent and try to open doors. Look for a few Theme Park Engineering reps at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 next month, for instance—they’re coming to Vegas to network and learn about the business.

“This is the kind of industry where if you know a few people you end up knowing everybody. I’m slowly meeting more people and getting my name out there,” Linden says. “We like to think that if a company is looking for interns, this is where they should look. A lot of people on campus think we just play with roller coasters, but we do this like a job. That’s what sets us apart.”

Contact Senior Editor Jeremy Schoolfield at jschoolfield@IAAPA.org.