"The Uganda Project" Progresses!

Hello Everyone!
I want to share some of the progressions of the ETCA towards "The Uganda Project" light and clean water goals. My Senior Project class at Russell County High School is leading the design and build of the light plant that will be powered by a battery donated by Superior Battery. (Thank you Mr. Rollin McFarland at Lake Cumberland Technology Center for working this out for us! And, of course, Thank You to Superior Battery!!) This battery was going to be charged by two solar panels that my Seniors made last year as an engineering project; however, Mr. McFarland reminded me of the solar panels that were donated to the Academy in our debut year, 2008. I think we will use two of these due to the durability and the glass quality...especially since we won't be close in case of problems, etc. So, Matthew Russell, an RCHS senior, is our lead electrician. He is heading up the wiring harness design and is teaching other students as he goes. Emily Holsinger is leading the Instruction Manual portion of the project. Brad Stephens and Jason Davis have been instrumental in the modifications to the PVC pipe, which is being used as the "skeleton" that supports the lights. Enjoy a few of the latest pictures of these talented students' endeavors!! Remember to click on the slideshow to view the picture album and captions!!




The sophomore class, Introduction to Energy, taught by Mrs. Stefanie Tarter, is heading up the LifeStraw and water purification goal. We received our "The Uganda Project" wristbands last Friday!! We are selling them for $2 each and sales are great, so far! Each student has started out with 10 wristbands each, and many have already gotten their second set of ten!

Not sure if I posted this already, but the winner of the "Green Basket" that was designed and sponsored by the ACHS ETCA Sophomore Energy Class, was Mary Curry. Congratulations Mary! Autumn, the student with the highest grade in Mrs. Tarter's class, drew the winning ticket out of the box! Pictured below is the ACHS Intro to Energy and Intro to Engineering classes. Great job guys! You make me proud!

I am so lucky to be a part of such an awesome program! More to come...

Good night,

Heather

Snow! Snow! Snow!...has put a damper on some project progression

Hello Everyone! It has been a while since my last post; so, sorry about that! However, things have been really busy for the Energy Technology Career Academy! We have yet another project that I am so excited about! Recently, at a Christmas play, my dad (of all people) introduced me to an extraordinary man named Ronald. He is from Uganda. He is a LWC graduate and will be going back to Uganda on January 31st of this year. His family came over to the States to watch his graduation and literally did not believe that he received 3 meals a day until they saw it with their own eyes! Ronald and his family will be starting a ministry in Uganda (he received a Christian Ministries degree from LWC). As I was talking with Ronald, I asked him about electricity availability in Uganda and he quickly told me that they would have no electricity. All reading, studying, etc., must be done by fire. Well, if you know me by now, my wheels began turning! I remembered the two solar panels that my Intro to Engineering class made last year (the ones for under $100 that helped us win NEED National Rookie of the Year). Wouldn't it be awesome if LWC's Energy Academy supplied solar panels to an LWC graduate on the other side of the world? If we helped light a village in Uganda so that people may hear the Good News? So that children could go to school again because they could study at night by light and still work in the daylight hours? WOW!!! How powerful (no pun intended!)

I was supposed to pick up Ronald on Friday at lunch and bring him to ACHS to meet some of the Academy students, but SNOW happened! We will reschedule for later this coming week! I want the students to meet Ronald personally so that they have that deep connection that will help them realize the full potential of their skills...especially in third-world countries! Of course, I will have pictures to post later and will hopefully get some good press for the Academy as we pursue this wonderful journey to Uganda!
Stay Warm!!! Heather