Seniors Isaac, Chris, Mackenzie, and Harley all leave the EV nest at once...leaving behind a great hole in all our hearts, shop and vehicles. Awards: Chris was a senior who was always present from start to finish. This student never backed down from a challenging task and actually welcomed it. From trailer wiring to our most challenging battery system to date.. He never wavered spending 195 hours outside of class time. The “Boulder” award goes out to Chris. Harley has been with the team his entire high school career. He was always most supportive and eager to help do anything. Most memorable phrase, “What do you need me to do?” While returning from a competition at Appstate this particular student learned a most memorable lesson with Newton’s first law of motion. This particular student had settled down in the rear of the bus with a huge gulp drink, sandwich and chips from an earlier lunch he didn’t eat. The access road leaving the parking lot had a speed bump that was labeled with signs and painted lines. This was not the issue. The issue was just around the corner where an unmarked speed bump was located. When I realized the bump was upon us I said, “SPEED BUMP” and from the corner of my eye in the rear view mirror I saw in slow motion a drink floating in the air that transitioned into a soft drink rain.Sometimes you just never know what engineering lesson is around the next corner. The “Speed Bump” award goes out to Harley. Mackenzie defines coming full circle in more ways than one. The first experience in the miata we call Opportunity was to make a racing seat with a 5 point harness slide forward so the pedals could be reached by more drivers. Her last experience in Opportunity demonstrated an exciting way to pick flower petals….which involved a kind of circle in the infield grass... Mackenzie has written hundreds of personal thank you cards to sponsors and volunteers, wired our first battery management system, and spent 288 hours outside of class on numerous EV opportunities. The “Flower Girl Award” and $500 EV Scholarship goes out to Mackenzie. Isaac has been devising plans to improve the EV program since open house his freshman year. Isaac always displayed the utmost maturity in all projects and has stood out as a leader since his freshman year. During our yearly opening parent night I introduce to the team their “experience” bank account. This account is one they are in charge of accumulating and managing while on the team. The more experiences they acquire, the more skills they master. While spending nearly 1000 EV hours after school over the course of his high school career this student has mastered rebuilding and modifying every mechanical system in the miata, car hauler, golf cart, cushman, solar panels and rc cars. I seriously could not think of any system untouched by this student. The “Big Chief” award and $1850 EV scholarship goes out to Isaac.
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AuthorWest High's EV Team
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May 2018
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