On Thursday the 30th of November, the automotive engineering club at Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) holds its second annual fundraiser at Mod Pizza.
The automotive engineering club has been at Huntington Beach High School since the 2022/23 school year. It’s a student-driven and student-run club supervised by Mr. Egan. The club designs and builds electric go-karts to participate in a race, which includes three heats with twelve laps each.
“The Automotive Engineering club is a place for STEM-focused students to pursue their passion and expand their knowledge and network,” says Bochin Tong, Co-president of the club. “As a team, we design and build electric go-karts from scratch. Through this learning process, we gain experience with different materials, welding, electronics, and teamwork. In May, we race with many other high schools and universities over efficiency and speed,” adds Tong.
Mercedes Benz sponsors the competition at the end of the school year. This is not only a great chance to race against other karts, but Mercedes Benz also gives out prizes and opportunities for the winners.
“Last year, the prizes included an internship, a tour of the factory of Mercedes as well as other experiences offered by the company,” says Logan Perry, also Co-president of the club.
In the competition last year, one of the club’s karts got 4th place, and the other unfortunately did not finish due to some last-minute mechanical problems.
“Most of the money will go to redoing our kart design and fixing last year’s problems to give us a fighting chance at the top of the podium this year,” says Larry Pearsall, a club member. “We hope to get first, second, or third place,” added Perry.
Last year, the club raised about $1000 with the help of great promotion of the event by the school and the people who came to show their support. This year the club hopes to raise about the same amount or more.
A big difference between the Huntington Beach Automotive Engineering Club and other teams is that the club at HBHS is student-driven. In contrast, other teams are mostly school-funded teams. “So we are special in that sense,” says Perry. “We need the fundraiser to gather our materials since this is a student-run club. We need as much funding and sponsorship as we can acquire. To have the best shot mechanically,“ Perry added.
So, come and show your support for the HBHS Automotive Engineering Club on Thursday, November 30th, and help them get one step closer to their goals for the upcoming school year. Just use the code “MODGIVES20” or let the employees know you are there to support the HBHS Automotive Engineering club and contribute to their fundraiser.
