The Union College Mini Baja team is made of mostly engineering students, but because of the nature of the college, many students of other majors and interests have had the chance to try out Mini Baja. In addition to the variety of majors found within the baja team, the size of Union means that even first year team members are given real responsibilities within the team and always have a project to be working on. The casual but goal oriented team dynamic makes getting hands-on engineering experience fun and effective.

Name: Matt Beenen

Major: Mechanical Engineering (2009)

Position: Captain

Bio: Matt Beenen is a junior mechanical engineering student leading the team this season. As a member of several well known european car clubs in St. Paul, Minnesota, he's had plenty of exposure to motorsports. Between autocross school, and building his own stage II turbo VW gti, it's no surprise that he's taken an interest in SAE Mini Baja.

Name: Jon Wilson

Major: Mechanical Engineering (2009)

Position: Design and Construction

Bio:Jon Wilson is a junior Mechanical Engineering student.  He likes fast cars and big red brakes.  He joined the mini baja team for the ladies, but helps out with the solidworks modeling of the car and fabrication projects when they're nowhere to be found.

Name: Tim Jayko

Major: Electrical Engineering (2007)

Past Position: Captain

Bio: A four year Baja member, Tim has fully experienced the development of the program at Union.  He is an electrical engineering major and brings a diversified view and knowledge base to the mechanically oriented project.  Elected captain by his teammates, he graciously assumes responsibility for filling the big shoes left from the leaders before him.  Tim was born and raised in America's Home Town, Plymouth, MA and will begin working for GE Energy as an Edison Engineer in July of 2007.

Name: Matt Waddell

Major: Mechanical Engineering (2007)

Past Position: Suspension Design

Bio: Matt is a senior Mechanical Engineering major who has been a part of the Baja team since his sophomore year at Union. He grew up in Saratoga Springs NY and moved to the small rural town of Greenwich before high school. Here he took advantage of all of the welding and metalworking classes offered. At union  he continued working with metal in his machine shop work study. Matt enjoys building cars and his current projects are a 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air and a 1933 Nash Coupe. Matt's other interests include traveling, football, skiing, skydiving, flying, and fine Czech beer (otherwise known as Pivo).

Name: Zack Cramer

Major: Mechanical Engineering (2007)

Past Position: Powertrain

Bio: Zack Cramer is a senior Mechanical Engineering major in charge of powertrain design. He has designed a custom gearbox, as part of his senior project, that is awaiting completion at the time of this writing. Hailing from beautiful western New York, Zack brings experience from years spent around tractors, snomobiles, go-karts and ATV's. He has also worked for Nucor Steel, one of the largest recycled steel producers in the nation, who has graciously sponsored the team this year.

Name: Price Williams

Major: Mechanical Engineering(2007)

Past Position: Cost Report, Sponsor Relations

Bio: Price Williams is a senior Mechanical Engineering student and is an indespensible member of the baja team. With his ability to write a top notch (and top ten) cost report consistently, it's no surprise that he's been encouraged to stick with the team. This year, Price has taken on a new role of sponsor relations and has single-handedly brought the team multiple thousands of dollars of funding that they wouldn't have otherwise had. Growing up around cars, he's also always willing to lend a hand in the shop.

Name: Jamie Arner

Major: Mechanical Engineering (2007)

Past Position: Suspension Design

Bio: Jamie Arner does not yet have a bio.

Name: Rich Valentas

Major: Biology (2007)

Past Position: Cost Reporter

Bio:Rich Valentas is a Biology Major with a passion for automobiles. Specifically those of the offroad variety.  His JEEP Wrangler is what sparked this interest and when he saw the Baja car tearing around campus his freshman year, he knew he had to be a part of it. Despite not being an engineering major in a very engineering oriented setting, Richard was able to overcome all adversity and is an important contributing member of the team.