CCEE student groups participate in annual Shack-A-Thon fundraiser

Shack-A-Thon leaders Cole Flowers (ACI), Josie Fisher (ACI), and Zoe Smith (ASCE) directing the team on build day.

Walking across NC State’s Brickyard anytime between March 26-31, you might have noticed a bizarre scene. Dozens of mini wooden shacks were spread across the brick walkway, adorned with spray-painted images of Mr. Wuf, nature scenes, greek lettering, student group names and more. 

The unique annual event is called Shack-A-Thon, a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity that challenges student organizations to build shacks and inhabit the shacks for 24 hours a day from March 27-31. Students even sleep in the shacks overnight. 

This year, NC State’s student chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE),  American Concrete Institute (ACI), and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) were among dozens of student organizations that joined forces using construction and civil engineering skills to build a shack dubbed the “Civil Shack.” The team sold homemade brownies and concrete coasters from the shack throughout the week and raised  $440 for Habitat for Humanity. 

“Having the opportunity to lead this service project alongside ACI has allowed us to collectively expose our student members to the importance of service and giving back to the community through applying our engineering skills,” said Zoe Smith, a civil engineering junior who served as one of the team leaders. “Additionally, this project allowed us to revive the Civil Shack, where we could further develop a sense of community within the CCEE department.”

A strong theme for the CCEE team in the shack construction process was sustainability. At the end of the week, the students deconstructed the shack in order to save the materials to use for next year’s event.