It felt weird getting out of bed on a Friday morning and going to work dressed formally. As a co-op on the Midnight Sun Solar Race Car Team, I am free to wear whatever I want to work. However, today was different; it was Homecoming and we were celebrating the return of our beloved 10th generation solar car.
On Friday, the 17th of February, E5 foyer looked different than usual. It had a stage, a screen, a projector, chairs, tables and, most importantly, our solar car! We had set all that up for the arrival of our sponsors and supporters. They were invited to celebrate our car’s return with us; after all, they were the ones who made the building of the car and our participation in the World Solar Challenge possible.
The World Solar Challenge is a solar car race in Australia that occurs every two years. Solar cars built by different teams from all over the world come to compete. As a participant in this race, Midnight Sun X raced 3000km from Darwin (a city in the north of Australia) to Adelaide (a city in its south). Thanks to the team members who were there, the car was able to race for 8 hours a day for 6 days. It ran on a cruising speed of 90km/h while using less power than that of a microwave! Keeping it running for this long with Australia’s tough weather wasn’t an easy task.
At 3pm, sponsors and supporters started arriving. My team and I greeted them with enthusiasm, showed them the car and answered all of their intense questions. They looked around our bay (i.e. our workplace) to get an idea of where our inspiration is found and where our ideas are created. By 3:30, E5 was filled with team members and sponsors/supporters coupled up and discussing the car. Snacks were served and pictures were taken.
By 4pm, everyone we were expecting had come, so Kevin Kyeong, the project manager, began his speech. He started off by thanking our sponsors and supporters for coming, the team members for organizing this event and Jacqueline’s catering for providing the food. He continued by thanking our sponsors for their help to the team and the car; if it weren’t for them, we would not have gotten this far. He then called each sponsor up to stage, shook their hands, presented them with a Midnight Sun souvenir and took a photo. Applause and cheers could be heard all around the first and second floor of E5.
And that was the end of the “organized” part of event. Some people stayed a little longer to ask more questions and take some photos with the car while others collected their coats to leave. Midnight Sun X’s return was fun and enjoyable.
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