How many high schools in the area do you know can brag about having their own student-built solar-powered vehicle? Neelyville high school can and building it was a valuable lesson in teamwork for six high school seniors.
It all began when Neelyville High School art teacher Lisa French had an idea to form a class that would build a solar-powered vehicle, which is not as easy as you might think. Seems as if there are certification issues and bureaucracy that, while essential to making sure students are properly instructed, felt like they might make her dream unattainable.
“I was thinking I was going to have to take some science and technology classes and get recertified, and then somebody was like, well, why don’t you just teach it with a science teacher,” French said.
Teresa Sheppard is the science teacher French recruited for the class.
“I thought that it was the neatest idea,” French said. “I mean, anytime you can work together and put science and art and design together, I think it’s great and the kids that had a super fun time.”
So, in 2019, they held their first class with almost 30 students. The first months were all about research, design and fundraising to buy the parts necessary for the build. Then in 2020, spring break came and went and the kids didn’t go back to school because of COVID restrictions and the build just stopped cold.
At the beginning of the school year in the fall of 2020, French and Sheppard wanted to see the project completed and six high school seniors, some holdovers from the group that started the build, joined the class.
Fundraising efforts had generated close to $3,000, which was enough to get the parts necessary. Every day during sixth hour, they would gather together and work on the solar car project.
Some of the work was done before spring break 2020 with the donation of a 1989 Club Car Golf Cart from Creach’s Golf Carts in Neelyville. Some bodywork and structure work had been done on the chassis, but there was a lot left to do.
The six students, Noah Morss, Jacob Hays, Serenity Raymond, Derek Izquierdl, Trevor Swift and Caitlynn Larson, had a lot of ups and downs during the build.
“This project was about teamwork,” Larson said. “I don’t think we could have done it with one less person. This (project) was six people working together to build this and it was difficult at times. There were arguments and disagreements, but we got it done.”
Noah Morss said, “What I learned in the class is how to work together. If you have really good chemistry, then your work is just going to be more fluent and easier than just saying step back and let me do my thing.”
And according to Jacob Hays, it helped him embrace something that he was not all that familiar with.
“I learned a lot of patience,” Hays said. “I’m not a really patient person. I hate waiting on things, but this was a trial-and-error kind of thing.
“Plugging a wire here didn’t work so let’s put it somewhere else, get a few sparks there and keep it there. It was frustrating to get the wiring in the right spots, but it taught me a lot of patience.”
Derek Izquierdl learned how to aclimate to a new situation.
“While they were dealing with more mechanical and industrial stuff where they’re using their hands, we had to do the same,” Izquierdl said. “It’s a different kind of switching mindset where you have to adapt what you’re doing toward something else, so that’s one thing that I was able to get out of this class.”
Serenity Raymond believes the one thing they all agree on was that the biggest lesson learned was teamwork.
“When we completed the car, everyone helped us knock out the priming of the body and stuff like that,” she said. “I think we all contributed a fair amount and if any one of us was not on the team, we’d probably have struggled a lot. It was a team effort”
And the teachers learned as much as the students, according to French
“I learned more about wiring and electronics than I’ve ever known, and I still don’t know anywhere near what some of these kids know now because they had to do it all,” French said. “Anytime you can learn with your students, everybody gets more out of the process.”
Just one day before the end of their final semester at Neelyville High School, the vehicle was finished and ready to take a ride, but there was a problem.
It wouldn’t work. Everything looked right, but it just wouldn’t move. As they all tried to figure out what was wrong, Sheppard wondered if it was in gear, she double-checked and made sure it was in gear and pushed the pedal.
Electric motors don’t “rev” up like internal combustion engines, in case you didn’t know, they basically get up to full speed almost instantaneously.
“I just pushed the gas down and about ran over Noah, but then we realized that it moved, and we all started jumping up and down and screaming because we were excited,” Sheppard said.
And excited they were and celebrate they did, with the added bonus of a soon-to-be-held dinner at the restaurant of their choice, courtesy of French and Sheppard.
Sheppard sums it up like this, “We had six talented students this year and they were all workhorses, I mean they did it, they did it all, these kids are great and it’s because of them and their hard work that it got done.”