As I
near the end of my senior year the anticipation for summer has consumed me,
classes are dwindling down and students speak of big plans for the break. I
like any other kid love summer and the promise of no homework, but as the
president of the Coppell Solar Racing team my year is far from slowing down.
The onset of summer for me and my team means countless hours spent perfecting
our solar car in the lab and Saturdays spent clocking mile after mile on back
roads. While most students look forward to the relaxation of the summer season,
I and my team have a renewed determination to achieve greatness at this year’s
race.
Determination
is sacred inside the Solar Car lab at Coppell High school, I put it on the same
level as passion, drive and creativity. These are the traits that I as a leader
must fuel within my team because without them we are nothing. It is creativity
that allows a group of teenage kids to construct a solar car, and it is passion
that brings them into the lab week after week. Creativity and passion are born
within an individual and I have never seen a member of my team lose either of
those. Drive and determination are not so easily fueled though, they wavier
with feelings and are sometimes hard to recover. With testing and homework so
abundant my team is often hard pressed to find time for the solar car. Yet this
is where we differ from your average group of kids. My team takes their passion
for engineering beyond my wildest expectations, putting in hour after hour to
chase their dream of not just creating a solar car, but creating something that
they can call their own.
As a
senior I have started looking to the future more than I did in the past, and
now many things have come to my realization. While closing the doors after a
work session last week I was struck by a thought. These young minds that I am
working with will one day be the future, they will be the ones trying to cure
disease, end hunger and create a better world. While most students these days
may not feel ready to take on the challenges of the world, I know that my team
is. Solar car is about so much more than just building a car to race. It
teaches you that if you set your mind to something you can achieve any goal you
set. I have also learned that you will fail, and while it is truly frustrating
it is the failures within my team that have taught us the most. Solar car has
taught us to work as a team and never accept defeat, my team has learned to
push the limits daily even when those limits push back. I am very proud of the
work done on the car this year, but I am even more proud of my team for the
people they have been molded into and their readiness to face any challenge
that comes their way.
As I
depart after this summer I know that I leave the team in good hands. All of the
members have far surpassed any expectations I had at the beginning of this
year. The future I see for the members of Coppell Solar is very bright, both in
the race this summer and in their lives ahead.
-Carter
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