Over the summer of 2022, The Holy Solars, a team of 11 outstanding engineers, participated in the Solar Car Challenge. This closed track event at Texas motor speedway was the team’s second consecutive victory, one of Kent’s proudest achievements. 

In 2021, the car that was raced was named the Solar Schell 1. Through some modifications, Solar Schell 2 was the car that raced in 2022. From Kent, the car was put in a trailer and driven all the way to Texas. During the event, which lasted for a total of four days, students stayed at the Marriott hotel near the Texas motor speedway. Held to promote solar energy and engineering, the competition started with the rigorous screening process in which cars had to pass the requirements for mechanical, electrical, braking, turning, and endurance. 

Solar Schell 2, along with cars from many different states,  entered the race after passing their initial tests. At the end of an active and hectic day, a winner was chosen based on its greatest number of laps it had completed. The final winner was selected based on the total number of laps which accumulated over a total of four days. Impressively, Kent won three out of four days and also the whole race in their division. In addition to this outstanding triumph, Solar Schell 2 won the mechanical drawings competition too.

There is more to this event than just racing. Collaboration and communication played a key role in their success too. Students cooperated efficiently as a unit to develop strategies for racing. For example, trying to race the most on the first or second days of the competition wouldn’t be a smart choice. Mr. Bezerra, who is advisor to Solar Car, the Director of Engineering, and a member of the Math Department, says, “It is a whole project touching many disciplines and competencies. The spirit of the event is collaboration, and getting involved with real world problems.” 

Solar Car at Kent all started with Mr. Bezerra’s desire to promote engineering on campus through a project that is related to green energy and sustainability. He wanted to support the development of the Five Kent Competencies in  students and promote challenge-based learning projects. In the future, he hopes that the team will  be able to participate in the advanced division, and perhaps form both “Varsity” and “JV”  teams.