Make It Happen at Rose-Hulman
Tuesday, August 04, 2026
Make It Happen, Rose-Hulman's humaniatrian-based engineering design organization, created several projects to better their community this past academic year.
Innovators, engineers, and entrepreneurs strive to make an impact on the world and leave it better than they found it, and Make It Happen, Rose-Hulman's humanitarian-based engineering design organization, is implementing that mindset within their community.
This past year, Make It Happen's projects centered around education. Seeing a need at the Vigo County Public Library, Make It Happen developed an electric dolly to help library employees move piles of books. Previously, the library collected returned books in oversized bins, which were heavy and cumbersome to maneuver. The new four-bar link attached to the front of the dolly eases the burden on library staff.
Make It Happen also worked on several smaller-scale projects throughout the spring quarter, including designing a station for Lost Creek Elementary's annual field day festivities. Playing into the event's board game theme, Make It Happen members designed a life-size version of Mousetrap, enabling younger students to learn about STEM as they progressed through the game as a group. Make It Happen also inspired STEM curiosity at the second-annual Rose-Hulman STEM Jubilee, presented by the Noblitt Scholars Program, where members led attendees in creating seaworthy, weightbearing, tinfoil boats.
"Having multiple projects completed in a year is definitely a thing that we are proud of," said Stevie Irvine, junior biomedical engineering major and Make It Happen president. "We would like to help as many people as we can, and if we have many projects [we are] working on, we are achieving the goal."
Make It Happen's mission is to "solve real problems for real people," bringing engineering from the classroom to the community.
"Our team is a perfect opportunity to reach out for helping local communities and utilize our engineering skill in a meaningful way," said Irvine. "Our club is full of people who are willing to help you learn how to use basic tools and programs by doing multiple projects. It is a perfect opportunity to gain hands-on experiences at Rose."
This past year, Make It Happen's projects centered around education. Seeing a need at the Vigo County Public Library, Make It Happen developed an electric dolly to help library employees move piles of books. Previously, the library collected returned books in oversized bins, which were heavy and cumbersome to maneuver. The new four-bar link attached to the front of the dolly eases the burden on library staff.
Make It Happen also worked on several smaller-scale projects throughout the spring quarter, including designing a station for Lost Creek Elementary's annual field day festivities. Playing into the event's board game theme, Make It Happen members designed a life-size version of Mousetrap, enabling younger students to learn about STEM as they progressed through the game as a group. Make It Happen also inspired STEM curiosity at the second-annual Rose-Hulman STEM Jubilee, presented by the Noblitt Scholars Program, where members led attendees in creating seaworthy, weightbearing, tinfoil boats.
"Having multiple projects completed in a year is definitely a thing that we are proud of," said Stevie Irvine, junior biomedical engineering major and Make It Happen president. "We would like to help as many people as we can, and if we have many projects [we are] working on, we are achieving the goal."
Make It Happen's mission is to "solve real problems for real people," bringing engineering from the classroom to the community.
"Our team is a perfect opportunity to reach out for helping local communities and utilize our engineering skill in a meaningful way," said Irvine. "Our club is full of people who are willing to help you learn how to use basic tools and programs by doing multiple projects. It is a perfect opportunity to gain hands-on experiences at Rose."