MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Some Miami-Dade high school students made power moves this holiday weekend as a special race kicked into high gear at the Miami International Auto Show — and it’s all electric.
These students were driving into the future in South Beach when they stepped behind of electric go-karts that they built from scratch got to put to the test.
Representing four different schools in Miami-Dade County, the young motorists hit the electric vehicle test track on Saturday morning. It was all part of the first-ever Electrathon student race, where the objective is efficiency and distance, not speed.
First-time participant Nidhi Begur summed up the experience with one word: time. She said that while parts of their kart had to be fixed during development, it’s still exciting to have this opportunity.
“All these cars racing, it’s inspirational that all these high school times can do that, and as a first-year team, that only makes us more excited, especially because we’re actually an all-girls team,” she said.
The students raced their electric go-karts thanks to a donation by Florida Power & Light.
“We’re trying to grow the sport in the state to try and encourage students to consider careers in clean energy, sustainability, automobiles and e-mobility,” said FPL spokesperson Isabella Burckhardt.
Last school year, FPL provided electric vehicle building kits and training to help students across Florida design and create their own vehicles. They culminated the program with an electrifying race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in June.
Burckhardt said it takes about 60 hours over the span of a few months for a team to build a kart like the ones that raced Saturday.
“They do everything, from wiring to body paneling, start to finish. They’re trying to design the most energy efficient vehicle,” she said.
For some of the participants, the event gave them a chance to learn about the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, and put themselves out there in a very competitive field.
“It’s never gonna be easy, especially in an under-represented field where women in STEM aren’t as commonly found,” said Begur, “but to have a community that you can always look back on — it’s like having 20 sisters with you at all times — it’s so awesome. So, if there are any girls watching this that wanna get involved in STEM, just do it.”
FPL will select another 10 high schools across Florida to participate in their EV building program this year, including one in Miami-Dade County.
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