SFE Final Update #LO4
Happy late 2020!
So far in Solar for East, we’ve had a very exciting few weeks presenting to the middle school classes. I’ve been part of the classroom presentations which happen during mentor and we’ve been going from class to class talking about the importance of the project; we conclude with a lovely demo panel that shows the voltage produced on a live graph — the kids love this interactive aspect of the presentation!
Our small original team has grown in the last few years as the demands of the project grow larger and larger. In fact just looking back Solar for East has been my longest running activity, which I joined at the start of my high school experience and have stayed committed to throughout these 4 years. I’m really appreciative of the experience I have gotten through Solar for East and I hope to have other opportunities in the future to work with such an effective team.
In other news, we’re also getting serious about the handover as we are aware we won’t be able to commit as much time to the project in the coming months. We’ve just completed our interview process and had the first meeting with our new recruits just last week. In the coming weeks, we will be working with the grade 9s and 10s, getting them familiar with the installation procedures as well as the level of organisation required for the project to continue operating smoothly.
Tech Tinkers Leadership and thoughts, #LO7
SFE December Update #LO5
Hi there! So much has happened in the last few months. We’ve hosted a second installation event which was a bit less party-like in contrast to the inaugural installation event; we’ve hosted smaller tours for elementary school classes to come up and see what we’re working on. This latest one (video above) was a laborious team effort to cover the second roof with our newest shipment of panels. This was quite an exciting installation as it was in preparation for the activation of the generator which would be the last step for Solar for East to start providing useable energy to the school.
We just had a team-only turning on of the generator where we were introduced to its functionality and how to operate it. I think today was probably one of the most memorable days of my time at UWC as 2 years of hard work very came together in that one moment where our entire team was huddled around one menacingly industrial tower that faintly read “250W.” The culmination of each of our individual work towards the project that led to the one moment where we could see the clichéd “light at the end of the tunnel.”
I think the part of Solar for East I have found really memorable has been the way we really effectively broke down our tasks across our team. Splitting into different departments for communication, media, technology etc. we have limited our conflicts as everyone is working on what they are interested in and what suits their strengths. Of course, the solar for east installations are very rewarding but they also serve as a great team building experience as our entire team comes together to install the panels we have spent more than 2 years raising awareness and then donations for.
Solar for East is now producing energy.
Tech Tinkers #1, #LO6
Tech Tinkers is a service at UWCSEA East focused on repairing, recycling and donating old technology to families in need . The service has been operating for many years and has an established team with a large compilation of resources that make the Tech Tinkers process efficient.
I joined Tech Tinkers in Grade 9 after auditing a session upon the recommendation of my friends. I enjoyed the ability to work with computer hardware as it was something I hadn’t had the opportunity to work with hardware previously.
For my CAS Service requirement, I will be continuing Tech Tinkers, this year applying for a leadership position as I will be leaving the college after G12 and so we will need to train the next generation of the Tech Tinkers team to be familiar with the equipment and comfortable with the methods. As this happens my role will shift from repairs to mentoring which I’m excited to experience.
Technology has become a massive part of our daily lives in the last decade and with it our technological waste has grown fast. Many people have drawers of old devices, music players and headphones which have been replaced by new and updated technology. However, this accumulation of technology is ineffective as it grows old, eventually breaks without being used much. Instead, many countries are now focusing on technology reuse and recycling, which we are striving to do on a much smaller scale here at Tech Tinkers. We think that old technology shouldn’t be disposed of simply due to age, and that if there is someone that can benefit from access to technology, they should have the opportunity to use it.
SFE Thoughts at the Start of Grade 11 #LO7, #LO5
This year I will be continuing my work in Solar for East — a service endeavouring to install upwards of a thousand solar panels on our school with the goal of reducing the usage of highly unsustainable fossil fuels. Solar for East has had an eventful past. The original project began by Hemal Arora when he was learning about solar energy in grade 5. His project was named the “East Solar Initiative” and raised $50,000 in seed funding from the UWC Foundation.
Since then, the majority of founding members were let go as the core team realised that many members were only in the service for the sake of listing it on their résumés. This was during the starting of grade 9, which is when I first came to UWC and I was invited to be part of the technology and media division to lead the digital face of the group responsible for creating posters and presentations as well as managing the media presence of the project.
I have been in Solar for East for the last two years and we’ve made significant advances by now including the major milestone of finally procuring functional solar panels as well as installing them onto one of our roofs! In the coming months, we will be having more installation events to cover one more roof hopefully reaching our goal of 100 panels.
One of our biggest accomplishments is our mission as a project to promote the use of solar energy, and educating the younger grades through our interactive presentations. We believe that it’s far more effective to teach students and parents about the benefits of renewable energy rather than simply asking for donations because understanding the problem allows them to be more inclined to make other changes in their life that align with a goal of helping our planet. Many people we have talked to would like to help reduce their carbon footprint; however, it can seem like a daunting task at first which is why many people don’t make much progress towards their goals. We’ve hosted workshops for all grades throughout our school in the hopes that they can be further informed and may even go home and discuss these ideas with their parents.
I’m very excited to be part of the team and have no doubt that this will be a highly successful project by the end of my 2 years in high school!
Solar for East initial thoughts #LO6
Solar for East is an initiative in UWCSEA East and Dover focused on promoting the transition to solar panels. The project has secured $50,000 in seed funding from the UWC Foundation in order to be able to have some capital before raising money from donations.
I was asked to join the Solar for East team in Grade 9 as Head of Technology. I’ve worked on redesigning the digital image for Solar for East as well as assisting out with social media management.
For my CAS Service requirement, I will be continuing Solar for East as our roles shift towards new tasks such as the recruitment of younger students as we will be leaving the college soon. There are talks of a blog being written to post weekly updates to donors. I enjoy Solar for East because, as a lover of technology, the power of renewable energy combined with the deceptively simple yet complex technologies of solar panels make for a very interesting project.
Solar energy (part of UN development goal #7), I believe, is a means of harnessing energy that will exponentially gain popularity in the coming years. Developments are constantly being made in the field and panels are quickly approaching 25% efficiency. I believe soon many people will realise that it would be significantly cheaper for them to harness their own energy and install their own solar panels rather than rely on the grid. As the world becomes more dependent on technology, our energy use is growing at a commensurate rate which is problematic as the foundations of our energy network is dependent on non-renewable resources such as coal and fossil fuels.
CAS Plan
Creativity:
I have signed up for HS Jazz Combo as a guitarist. I currently play acoustic and I’m hoping I will be able to gain some experience with the electric guitar through this activity. Jazz combo will also be focusing on improving our skills relating to improvisation.
Along with two other friends, we plan on building an electric go-kart to push our skills in engineering as well as learning new skills such as welding.
I will be leading the ‘Art of CompSci’ club which teaches high schoolers about programming in Java alongside the concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP).
Activity:
I will satisfy the activity requirements as I am currently enrolled in the pre-season badminton team and I will apply for the U19 badminton team next year when it is in season.
Service:
To satisfy the service requirements, I will be leading Tech Tinkers, a service that works alongside the local community to reduce electronic waste by taking in old hardware and recycling it (or responsibly disposing of it if required) and donating it to families in need. My role is as the tech lead; I supervise all subdivisions and offer support to the group leaders with the harder diagnoses.
As a technology and sustainability enthusiast, I was invited to join the Solar for East Initiative as Head of Technology. Solar for East promotes a sustainable future by shifting our school’s energy source to solar power. I will be continuing my involvement in Solar for East as an addition to my service requirements.