Jackrabbit in the spotlight: Stern at the wheel of JEC again in 2024-25

“If you need something done, find a busy person and they’ll get it done.”

The adage certainly applies to senior mechanical engineering student Cherish Stern of Brookings. She is in her second year as president of the Joint Engineering Council within the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering at South Dakota State University, an intern at Daktronics and a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society. 

While at SDSU she also has been a member of The Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band and the Civic Orchestra. In calendar year 2023, she was vice president of communications for officer in the SDSU Robotics Club.

In the winter, the 2021 state girls wrestling champion also is a volunteer assistant coach for her alma mater, Brookings High School.

“Cherish is the epitome of an organized leader. She knows what needs to be done when, and she makes sure others are on the same page,” Jenny Bickett said of Stern. Bickett, the college’s event coordinator, is the liaison to the Joint Engineering Council from the dean’s office.

In that role, she has seen Stern conduct the group’s meetings, which draw about 60 students, arrange for and introduce guest speakers, and promote the club’s presence off campus.

“Cherish really thrives in these situations. You can tell she has a lot of pride in the college and our students and enjoys sharing our success with those outside the college,” Bickett said.

Invited by friend to JEC meeting

The Joint Engineering Council is the umbrella organization for the Lohr College of Engineering, serving as the communication hub for all engineering organizations, individual students and faculty members. It has representation from each of the 25 engineering clubs on campus, which included two new clubs in 2023-24. Three new clubs are in the developmental stage, and Stern hopes they will be ready to join the Joint Engineering Council this school year.

The 2023-24 Joint Engineering Council presidency was the first time Stern had led a college organization, but she was head drum major for the Brookings High School band her senior year.

She started attending Joint Engineering Council meetings her freshman year at the invitation of a friend whose boyfriend was involved. When she went, she discovered that the president was also a Brookings High School graduate — Ben Diersen. She continued to attend meetings for the social aspect as well as to hear from speakers.

Heading into her sophomore year, she was elected secretary and, to her surprise, she became president in her junior year.

An older student was slated to become president, but when he couldn’t serve, Stern accepted the duty. Although nervous, Stern was confident that there would be support to make it a success.

JEC flourishes under Stern’s leadership

The goal-oriented Stern found herself up to the task. “The goal for (2023-24) was to increase the number of speakers present at meetings, and we met that by having six compared to three last year.” She also said 50 to 60 students attended meetings in 2023-24, and she hopes to keep attendance in that upper range the coming year.

Recognized clubs within the Joint Engineering Council are required to send a representative to JEC. That means another 35 students are attending because they find the meetings worth their time.

One such student is CheyLee Arnold, a senior electrical engineering student.

“Even though attending JEC meetings isn’t required for me, I make it a point to be there regularly because of the incredible value Cherish brings to the table. Her leadership has fostered an environment rich with career opportunities, innovative ideas and collaboration. The progress I’ve seen this past year is truly impressive. I'm excited to see how JEC continues to grow under her guidance,” Arnold said.

Stern said in her first year as president she learned “a lot about organization, keeping track of all the clubs and finding a reliable contact within each club.” She also said she learned that while it’s great to have speakers, not all speakers are created equally. Some would talk for 45 minutes to an hour, which would extend meetings longer than students’ schedules permitted them to attend.

One of her goals for this year is to increase community involvement.

A good start was made on that last year with four clubs participating in Downtown Brookings’ Festival of Lights parade. This year started with participation at Brookings’ Downtown at Sundown (Aug. 29) and Sioux Falls’ Levitt at the Falls concert series (Aug. 31). Student clubs also will have a role at the SDSU Day at the Washington Pavilion (Sept. 20-21).

Works with Robotics Club on sprayer

Outside of the Joint Engineering Council, Stern has found fulfillment through participation in the Robotics Club and on the Baja SAE team.

She has served as vice president of communications for the Robotics Club since December 2022 and was part of a group of students who accepted the challenge of 1975 mechanical engineering alum Jerry Natzel to build an autonomous vineyard sprayer using the frame of a Ryobi zero-turn lawnmower. 

It has been in the club’s workshop in various states of development since spring 2022, but in late April club members took it to Natzel’s Owatonna, Minnesota, vineyard.

Behind the wheel for Baja race

Baja SAE challenges engineering students to design and build an offroad vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and, in some competitions, water. Each team’s goal is to design and build a prototype of an all-weather, rugged, single-seat offroad vehicle intended for sale to the nonprofessional offroad enthusiast.

On May 15-19, she was at SAE Williamsport hosted by Pennsylvania College of Technology at Montgomery, where the SDSU team Desert Hare Offroad competed. She joined the team in November and was primarily responsible for the HROE (Hazardous Release of Energy) shielding and throttle pedal, but was involved in designing or making components for a lot of the other systems as well as rebuilding the car before competition. 

At the 110-team contest, Stern got to drive the buggy in the endurance race, which is a 63-mile race on a hilly, dirt course.

The SDSU team was done after 14.3 miles, when a non-injury rollover ended Desert Hare’s day. “Everybody (all 110 teams) is driving at the same time. It was really fun and really chaotic. You’re trying to go fast but not break your car. It was a super great experience,” Stern said.

She has signed up for Baja SAE again, and the team plans to take what it learned from Williamsport and build an entirely new car.

Once she is done with the 2025 Baja season and has her diploma, Stern plans to land a job in mechanical design working with automation and machinery design.

In the meantime, when there is a parade or other public event, look for Desert Hare to be there. The driver might well be the Joint Engineering Council president.