When college students meet for the first time, they often ask, "What's your major?"
A group of students at Minnesota State College Southeast (MSC) can now reply, "Bikes."
The technical and community college in Red Wing has enrolled its inaugural class in a two-year Associate of Applied Science Degree in Bicycle Design & Fabrication. It's believed to be the first program of its kind in the country.
"This is focused on exactly what I want to do," said Scott Johannen, 20, a Boston area native who moved to Minnesota with two years of liberal arts education under his belt. "I would like to design custom bike frames, maybe have my own company or be a lead welder or designer."
Cycling has exploded in popularity as a leisure activity, a competitive sport and a means of transportation. Now the Red Wing program is helping bike buffs turn their lifestyle into a career.
The program is attracting a surprisingly wide range of students, from teenagers just out of high school to retirees looking for new skills for encore careers.
"These guys eat, sleep and breathe bicycles," said Chase Spaulding, the faculty lead for the program. "Now they're learning how to drive that passion into learning all the components of the machine. They have the why; I'm giving them the how."
Slim, with a close-cropped beard and clad in a hoodie and dark jeans, Spaulding, 29, looks like a guy you'd see pumping along in the bike lane.