Here
is a cocktail for success in college: combine adrenaline, friends and fun with
gorgeous remote trail systems and groomed dirt tracks. Balance it out with the
hard work and problem solving taught in engineering courses at South
Dakota Mines.
The
university has a history of graduating engineers and scientists who nurture and
develop a lifelong love of motocross and off-road sports while in school. Many
of these engineers go on to work in the off-road vehicle industry.
Mines
students enjoy a 96% placement rate upon graduation. This is due in part to the
university’s hands-on curriculum that is combined with opportunities for
leadership development on real-world engineering teams available through the Center
of Excellence for Advanced Multidisciplinary Projects (CAMP).
Robb
Meineke finished his mechanical engineering degree at Mines in 2011. He grew up
racing motocross and trail riding in the Black Hills. “My interest in
motorcycles and my love for working on them is definitely the reason I decided
to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering,” says Meineke. “As a high school
student, I wanted to work for one of the major dirt bike companies which
triggered my interest in mechanical engineering.” Meineke’s senior design
project at South Dakota Mines, which focused on optimizing motorcycle
suspension performance, helped land him an early career in the off-road
manufacturing industry. Today, he is the director of valve services for the
company Applied Control.
“Mines
gave me an opportunity to develop my skills while still enjoying my passion for
motorcycles. I truly believe that the knowledge I gained during my time there,
combined with racing motocross, is the reason for my success today in my personal
and professional life,” says Meineke.
Walter
Coombe finished his mechanical engineering degree at South Dakota Mines in 2019
and is now employed by Garmin in Kansas City. He was introduced to motocross by
a couple of friends from CAMP’s Baja SAE team. “They had a couple extra bikes
they would let me ride occasionally. After my initial rides, they would send me
classified ads for dirt bikes until I finally bought one.”
Success
in an engineering and science university requires a balance of hard work and
fun. For Coombe, trail riding in the Black Hills provided a rejuvenating
experience that helped him succeed in his coursework. “I could spend all day
doing schoolwork, but I think it’s important, especially at Mines, to find
something outside of homework to take your mind off all the craziness that’s
going on. You can get out of town in 15 minutes to a decent place to ride. You
can mess around for maybe an hour and still get back in time to get some work
done in the same day,” says Coombe. He adds that working on his dirt bike
improved his studies in mechanical engineering. “Dirt bikes are an absolute
mechanical marvel for sure, which also helps out with design ideas.”
Landon
Wilhite grew up in a motocross family in Kansas. “My dad was a racer his entire
life. They had me on a 50cc minibike by the time I was four or five. I started
racing in 2007 and raced every summer until 2013. I came to South Dakota Mines
in 2014 and took a year off from riding and hated every minute of it. I decided
to bring the bike up the next year and have been riding in South Dakota ever
since.” Wilhite continued to race and ride while in college. He finished his
masters in engineering management at South Dakota Mines in 2018. Today he is
employed at LafargeHolcim in Boston.
Wilhite
adds that there are motocross tracks in the area for local riders. The Jackpine
Gypsies in Sturgis run the closest motocross track to campus. “It’s definitely
a great track to hit. The club is in the midst of developing a new track to the
American Motocross Association standard, so it should be interesting to see
what the very near future holds for motocross in the area.”
Besides
tracks, those who love off-road sports will find no shortage of fun in the
Black Hills area. The Badlands landscape in the huge Farmingdale riding area
offers a variety of terrains and open spaces and the Black Hills offers 3,600
miles of single track and double track designated off-road trails. “Definitely
I recommend motocross. It’s for anyone who is interested in sending it,”
Wilhite says.