Archbishop Curley students build functional electric vehicle as classwork

A group of seniors at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore has completed a project that just might make Elon Musk jealous.

On the school parking lot, Junior Lucas Schissler test-drives the electric vehicle he and other Archbishop Curley students assembled over the past several months. (Kevin J. Parks/CR staff)

The seniors worked together during their final semester to assemble a functional electric vehicle using a build-it-yourself kit. The class was part of the engineering track offered by the school. Students take introductory classes in the first two years of the program. Upperclassmen are then offered the choice of taking classes that focus on either its aerospace track or electric vehicles.

Watching a student zip around the Curley parking lot in the completed vehicle in June, Maria Hernandez beamed with pride. The biology and algebra teacher took over teaching the electric vehicle engineering class this year.

“It’s very rewarding to see all the hard work pay off,” Hernandez said as students with driver’s licenses took turns operating the sleek vehicle. “They were very persistent.”

The school purchased the kit to build the vehicle, called the Switch EV Kit, from Switch Vehicles Inc., a small business based in California that manufactures electric vehicles for students to build themselves. The kit is part of the company’s program called The Switch Lab, a STEM-based learning curriculum that challenges students with building the vehicle.

A task of such magnitude invariably comes with challenges and learning pains, but Hernandez and her students were undaunted.

Before they even stepped foot into the garage to build the car, they were tasked with reading their textbook regarding electricity safety and protocols. Once that phase was completed, the class moved into the garage, breaking into different groups to work on various aspects of the car such as wiring, brakes and the battery.

“Getting to see all these tools and learning how to use them was the biggest thing for me,” said Dillon Michaloski, who plans to study civil engineering at York College in the fall. “That, and working around things and getting the job done, working with your peers and dealing with parts breaking and other issues.”

Archbishop Curley students assemble an electric vehicle as part of the school’s engineering curriculum . Senior Joseph Baranoski inspects recently installed wiring. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Hernandez went to a four-day training class last summer where she built the car as part of a team. Teaching it to students during the school day, however, came with its own set of obstacles.

“It was different having a team work on it for eight hours a day, but here we only had an hour or so to work on it,” she said. “And of course, being in a school made it different as well. It was challenging but doable.”

Matthew Lynard, a senior whose grandparents worked as engineers for NASA and the NSA, said he “had a blast” building the car and enjoyed working with his classmates while constructing it. He plans on taking the lessons learned from the project with him well after graduation.

“No matter where you go or what your career is, you’re going to have to work together with other people, ask for help and use your resources,” Lynard said. “Nothing is as easy as you may think and you’re going to run into problems, and you have to work as a team to get things done. That’s something you can apply anywhere you go in any career.”

To view more photos of the car assembly, click below: