UNM played host to a unique sight on Saturday: geeks dressed to the nines with their pocket-protectors and horn rimmed glasses dashing around the campus.
The third annual “Run Nerds Run! 5k,” hosted by UNM Engineering, has participants run a 3.2 mile race while wearing optional “nerd attire” to raise funds for engineering scholarships at UNM.
According to the event’s website, the goal of the run is to raise proceeds for UNM’s Visions of Infinite Potential School of Engineering Endowment, which will generate yearly scholarships for engineering students.
The event organizer, alum Jake Howell, said he started the event in order to give back to UNM.
“I had at least $4,000 worth of scholarship during my undergrad,” said Howell. “I wanted to give at least that much back but this project is going to raise a lot more than that.”
Howell and fellow UNM alumni thought up the idea and presented it to UNM, he said. The idea was well received, but red tape and a series of approvals followed in order for the event to proceed.
Howell said he had to get approval from Johnson Field, UNM parking, and campus security in order to get the event’s route approved. The entire process took over four months of coordination.
So far the event has raised $18,000 over the past three years, and Howell expects the number to reach $21,000 this year. The ultimate goal is to raise $25,000.
Howell said that with the money the event raises, he and his team will create an endowment which will generate money from UNM’s consolidated index fund.
“It will grow in size and generate scholarships each year forever — it could be hundreds of years,” Howell said. “It’s better than a one-time donation...it spits off probably about $1,000 in scholarships each year.”
Howell himself has made donations to UNM as well, around $500, he said. Howell got his friends involved, which is where the idea of hosting an event to generate funds for the endowment came about.
“Jake (Howell) is my friend, we both went to the school of engineering and it was just one of those things he told us, that he was going to get an endowment started,” said Daniel Garcia, another UNM Engineering alum. “He said it was one of his goals to give back to UNM, so we thought, ‘What can we do? What’s a fun idea?’ Then we settled on a 5k race.”
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Garcia said a few themes were tossed around until they settled on a nerd-themed race, due to the common association that engineering students are nerds.
It was easy to pitch the idea to the Alumni Association as the association already had a course plotted out, he said. Although the University had concerns at first, they were quickly resolved.
This year’s event drew 68 participants, and the last two years about 80 participants each.
“We’re close to raising enough money to start our endowment,” Garcia said. “We might have one more run after this and we might stop after we reach our goal, but it’s something one of UNM’s student groups could do. I’m hoping that after we’re done they can keep this up as an annual tradition, a fun fundraiser.”
