Amateur Radio Club, Other Orgs Aim to Fund Projects

Building radios may have started as a hobby when Jerald Pinter was a child, but it also became one of his inspirations for pursuing a career in engineering.

Though Pinter is now retired as an engineer and engineering manager, he’s helping to prepare the next generation of scientists as a lecturer in Cal State San Marcos’ College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Knowing firsthand how challenging science courses can be, Pinter wanted to find an outlet for students, leading to the founding last fall of CSUSM’s Amateur Radio Club.

“These students are grinding through a really tough curriculum,” Pinter said. “I want them to have some fun and be able to be hands on and build something. Instead of grueling equations, they get to just have some fun tinkering with stuff in the lab.”

When the club launched, Pinter thought that maybe two or three students would show up. Instead, there are more than 20 who regularly attend the weekly Thursday meetings in the Viasat Engineering Pavilion. Though most are electrical engineering majors, the club is open to any student interested in learning how to build a radio (follow the club on Instagram @Radio_Club.CSUSM for more information).

The Amateur Radio Club is one of 13 groups participating in Cougar Crowdfunding Student Org Month. Throughout March, donors can make a difference in the lives of students by supporting these student-run organizations.

The Amateur Radio Club, which gained official student organization status this semester, is trying to raise funds to pay for amateur radio licensing testing for its members, equipment, materials to build radios, and radio equipment to start a CSUSM amateur radio station.

While Pinter serves as the Amateur Radio Club’s faculty adviser, the organization has a team of four student leaders: Noah Bills, president; Blake Stenson, vice president; Kurt Williams, treasurer; and Erin Obmina-Josue, social media director.

“The club is really good for professional development and it's a good résumé builder for the students,” Williams said. “It provides good connections, too. We've had partners from outside come in, and they're willing to come in and talk to everybody about things like engineering and professional development.”

Cougar Crowdfunding projects are managed by the Office of Annual Giving Programs. For questions or to submit a project for consideration, contact Digital Giving Specialist Alex Perkins at aperkins@csusm.edu or (760) 750-8895.

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Eric Breier, Interim Assistant Director of Editorial and External Affairs

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