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When Preyan Mehta added his name to the Case Engineers Council mailing list as a first-year student, he wasn’t sure where it would lead. Now, as president, the third-year mechanical engineering and pre-med student helps unite hundreds of engineering students through programs and events designed to spark connection and community.

Mehta joined CEC looking for a way to get involved and meet students outside his major. What he found was a tight-knit group of peers and an opportunity to help shape something bigger. Less than a year after attending his first events, he stepped into an executive role and quickly became one of the organization’s most active members.

“When I first toured campus, the guide emphasized how strong of a community they have here—how connected everyone is and how willing people are to help each other,” Mehta recalled. “That’s something I’ve definitely found here, and I like being able to help others find that, too.”

Over time, Mehta’s desire to strengthen connections within the engineering community drove him to take on increasing responsibility. He served in multiple leadership roles before becoming president, focused on expanding the organization’s reach and impact. Under his leadership, CEC has grown significantly, with regular meeting and event attendance more than doubling. 

“The primary goal of CEC is just to connect engineers of different fields,” Mehta said. “A lot of times we only see people in our own major. CEC is a place where all engineers can come together to network and socialize.”

That mission to connect the campus community is especially visible during Engineers Week (E-Week), the university’s annual celebration of innovation, collaboration and fun. Mehta plays a central role in planning and hosting multiple events, including CEC’s long-standing Jolly Scholar Trivia Night and the Lego Bridge Building Competition in partnership with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and Peer Advisors.

For Mehta, E-Week is also designed to welcome the entire campus community. “Everything is engineering themed, but as a non-engineer there’s nothing holding you back from doing any of the events or activities—E-Week is for everyone,” he said.

He views the week as an opportunity to bring people together through shared challenges and experiences. “I’d say it’s a week of connecting and having a good time,” he added. “We’re trying to build community and help people have fun on campus.”

As E-Week approaches, Mehta encourages students across campus to get involved. “You have nothing to lose,” he said. “Every single event has free food. Keep your mind open—you might meet new friends.”

With leaders like Mehta helping shape the experience, E-Week promises to be a week of connection, creativity and Spartan spirit for the ����APP community.

and read on to learn more about Mehta’s work with E-Week and what you can look forward to from the events.

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

What motivates you to take on leadership roles that support the broader engineering community?

A big motivation for me is seeing the club grow. When I first joined, we only had

about 10 members. I find it very rewarding to see the increase in engagement after putting in all this effort over the years. I'm seeing more people connect with each other and our club is able to do more. Last year, we had five or six alumni who are engineers give live Q&A sessions, and we were able to connect a lot of our current undergrads with alumni who are working at companies they want to work for. That's what motivates me—knowing that I'm able to actually make a difference and get more people involved.

What would you say makes E-Week unique compared to other engineering events that happen on campus?

I'd say the scale—this is a massive thing that happens on campus, and we're able to get so many different engineering groups working together. A lot of the other events throughout the year are very limited in their scope, because it can be difficult to coordinate with clubs, faculty and alumni. But during E-Week, we spend a lot of time working on doing just that—bringing clubs together—especially clubs that might not come together normally. E-Week also has faculty and alumni involved and present for a lot of the events, whereas in general meetings or student organization events it's very difficult to integrate faculty and alumni.

What goes into planning E-Week from the student side?

Planning for E-Week events involves both logistics and coordination. We have to determine the basics—when and where events will take place, costs, food, prizes, schedules and marketing—while also keeping up with communication to multiple clubs. Because multiple organizations collaborate on most events, one of the biggest challenges is keeping everyone involved and aligned at every step. There’s also regular communication with faculty and E-Week planners to provide budget updates and finalize scheduling.

Do you have a favorite event?

For me it’s definitely Jolly Scholar Trivia Night. I've been involved in planning three of them now, so I've been there for a lot. And I just think trivia is a great time—it's not too easy, but not too difficult, and the food from Jolly Scholar is great. And, of course, there's prizes at the end, so it’s just great to see so many people come together, happy to be there and having a great time—it’s definitely my favorite.

How do you hope students feel after participating in E-Week events?

First, I think all of us involved in E-Week planning hope everyone has fun at the events. We want you to tell your friends about it and invite them to come along—that's one of our biggest goals. Secondly, we hope everyone gets a chance to meet and get to know more people. I’ll be delivering opening remarks for the Dean’s Reception, which is a pretty big event, so it’s a great opportunity to network with other students, faculty, staff, alumni and, of course, the dean.