June 18th, 2024
Written by the student members of the Bluevale Collegiate Institute (BCI) Electric Car Club, named below.
Bluevale Collegiate Institute’s (BCI) Electric Car Club is a place where students can come together with a variety of skills and work towards the common goal of building electric vehicles from the ground up. There are a variety of subteams that are responsible for manufacturing, designing, electrical work, and data management. Everyone puts in a tremendous amount of work, allowing our team to find success for the past 20 years.
Jakob – Data Management
When I first heard about the electric car club on a tour of the school in Grade 7, I immediately became interested in joining the club. Two years later, I started high school, joined the club, and haven’t looked back since.
Week after week, it is something to look forward to, working with like-minded peers on the common goal of reaching the end of May with the best car we can build. The feeling of race day, where we watch in anticipation to see if our hard work has paid off is a truly amazing experience; seeing the work we have put in over the year to get to race day; and finally being there and seeing it on full display is like no other opportunity I have had in high school.
Joining the club in Grade 9, I had very little experience that could be applied to working with the car; as a new member, sticking it out and learning was the best thing I could have done. Observing and working under experienced peers who were dedicated to the team has helped me learn and grow as an individual and team member, leading to taking on more responsibility and further dedicating myself in the following years.
Now, as someone with experience, working through setbacks and challenges has taught me valuable lessons in persistence and resilience that can be applied to all aspects of life. Looking back after 3 years in the club, it has been incredible to see what we have achieved as a team, podiuming every year, with both firsts in races and winning the engineering award.
Kalli-Ann – Electrical
I have enjoyed my two years being part of the Electric Car Team at Bluevale. The club has given me valuable experiences and knowledge that I can apply outside in the real world and in my future career. I have gained experience working with electrical circuits and components as part of the electrical team and it has allowed me to further develop my knowledge more practically.
Moreover, I have enjoyed the experience of working closely with others as a team to design, build and race our cars. Together we achieve much more than we ever thought we could. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to develop my skills, meet fellow peers and be part of a team.
Shiming – Data Management
For me, I have the most respect for the people who put in the extra hours working on those intricate problems and making sure everything comes together behind the scenes. They are the true heroes of the team. As Bluevale’s team, we pride ourselves on the fact that everyone contributes to the success of the team, no matter how small or insignificant.
As for myself, I am a person who wishes to work on cutting-edge technology in the future, and the Electric Car Club gave me a glimpse into that. When I joined in Grade 9, I was lucky enough to join in with a team working on a brand new real-time monitoring system never seen before in our club. And it is only now after three years that our team has finally been able to mature this system and allow us to try things that we have not thought possible in the past.
This journey has not been easy with trying and testing things that we have no experience in. Because of this, we have faced many challenges and setbacks to reach where we are today. The real world is not like what you see in stories, where everything works perfectly after solving major challenges. Instead, even when you are almost certain that everything will work, something will fail and you will have to go back and fix the problem.
For the first few times failing, everything is fine, but when it continues with no end it is infuriating and you want to quit. However, you must push through to give yourself the chance of having a better outcome – this kind of perseverance is something working in the electric car club has taught me.
Most importantly, it has given me the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated people, who I would have never met otherwise. Some of these people first joined the club not knowing much about anything we work on, but they proactively learned and put in the hours to do the things that most matter. The work ethic and support that they show are extraordinary, and they continue to push me forward to strive to achieve what they have done for our club. Without these people, our club would not be able to achieve what it has done today, and without them, I would also not be who I am today.
Ayden – Manufacturing
Bluevale’s Electric Car Club has shown me possibilities and opportunities for my future. It has allowed me to make new friends with people I never would have had the chance to meet. Even though we all have our differences, it was a way we could all connect with each other. The club has also given me the experience of working in a team environment and more knowledge of using machinery, which I could possibly use in the future.
Charlie – Manufacturing
I joined the Electric Car Club in Grade 10 and I immediately knew I loved it, working with my hands, and others to make something from just ideas. Throughout my high school experience, I have spent countless months working on the car, fabricating parts, and modifying parts to fit specs.
Even though it seemed like a lot of work, I enjoyed it. I got to work with great people and use machinery I had never used before. When the car was finished I received the honour of being one of the drivers for the race. They must have liked what they saw because I was a driver for every race after that. I taught and watched new students fabricate and learn on the very same machines I did when I was in their grade, which reminds me of the first time I did that exact same thing. Throughout my experience, I learned to work as a team and how to deal with the struggle of something not going according to plan or not as you thought it would.
Goldy – Data Management
As a freshman, I believe this is the best path that I could’ve taken and I stand by my decision because it’s proven to be the best decision. From working on the design of the chainguard in CAD, to helping with the computing in the data management department, it’s the most realistic experience to a workplace environment, which I will forever adore as a learner.
Bhavya – Data Management
When I first joined the Electric Car Club, I was intimidated, fearing I wasn’t smart enough to belong. However, I immediately discovered that everyone in the group was there to learn, grow and try new things, just like me.
The atmosphere was more supportive than competitive, and the students were STEM-inspired, with a shared interest and love for creativity. This setting helped me discover skills I didn’t realize I possessed. I found myself immersed in difficult projects, collaborating on cutting-edge technology, and problem-solving in ways I had never encountered before.
Henry – Data Management
It feels good being a part of a team working with other students, learning and seeing all of our hard work coming together piece by piece all throughout the time that I’ve been here.
Eric – Data Management
This club has been so beneficial in not only improving my technical skills but also opening up other opportunities that I have been able to grab. There is so much that this club can be applied to whether it be more technical or soft skill related. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do as much as I did without this club.
After being in this club, there are still Electric Car alumni who come to support us during the race. Overall, the event itself is filled with positivity and good sportsmanship. Some of my closest friends have also come from this club and it has allowed me to interact with students from different grades that I am sure I will still talk to even after they or I graduate. Again, I must say that being in this club was something that really shaped my life and if I had the chance I would always choose to be a part of the Electric Car Team!
Allen – Manufacturing
It’s really great how a handful of high school students, sharing a similar interest in STEM, can come together and build an electric car. This club provides a hands-on experience that normal tech classes can’t quite provide. It’s cool to see the electric car racing around that track and say, “I built that.” Who doesn’t want to build a race car?
About the EV Challenge at the University of Waterloo
Hosted by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, the Waterloo High School Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge encourages students to design and test their own electric car in an annual endurance competition.
In 2024, teams from Bluevale Collegiate Institute (BCI), Laurel Heights Secondary School (LHSS) and Waterloo Collegiate Institute (WCI) took part in the event. BCI finished in 1st place for the high school 12 volt race.
Learn more on the Electric Vehicle Challenge website.
#StudentVoice Series
This article is written by a WRDSB student and is part of the Student Agency and Voice program. Student journalists embody WRDSB’s commitment to creating space for students to tell their stories. They are ambassadors for their peers as they share their personal experiences and stories about their schools and communities in their unique voices.
