I’m really proud of that casting. It has been a tradition since the 1940s for Stanford engineers to make these castings in the engineering school foundry. Old guys bring their old medallions in for reunions. Many alums have this on display around their businesses or offices. Because the original positives are reused every year the degree of detail indicates when it was casted. It’s almost like a diploma on the wall. There is also this little brass magnifying glass we have been forced to make for decades.
I’ve seen a similar tradition with a Tau Beta Pi key with Caltech engineers.
We are basically forced to make that thing our first year. For many, including myself, it is an unpleasant experience. Sand casting and foundry work is harsh. For a lot of the kids it’s the first time they get really dirty. Like coal mine dirty.
My experience went poorly. I forgot to use the release powder on the mold and I opened my mold after pounding sand (a no no) and it got slightly deformed. It came out ugly. I almost didn’t claim mine out of the pile the next day because it looked worse than the others. I wanted to switch mine for an unclaimed one but I swallowed my pride and took my special one home. I remember seeing the pristine one donated to the engineering library by an old graduate and I thought maybe I should keep it. It sat in my garage for years. I used it as a trivet for heated items in my shop. I almost left it in a scrap metal bin during a move a few years back. But I kept it...for 25 years.
Now I’m kind of proud of it. More so than my diploma. I keep it at my workbench to remind myself that I’m kind of a screwup with a knack for digging out. I have that magnifying glass too. I think they get special meaning over time because it isn’t just given to you.
https://twitter.com/StanfordEng/status/ ... 77984?s=20
https://engineering.stanford.edu/get-involved/alumni
Young student making her sand casting.
https://images.app.goo.gl/VMEc2hTtoHiv1dAX6