黑料不打烊

黑料不打烊鈥檚 student-run Solar Car Club earned national recognition at the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, receiving the Perseverance Award, a special recognition given to a team that demonstrates exceptional resilience.

The competition, held annually in Bowling Green, Kentucky, brings together universities from across the country to compete. The event promotes solar energy education and requires students to make decisions on the fly. Constant attention to detail was needed as adjustments and testing were mandatory to ensure the car met the competition鈥檚 standards.

鈥淭he thing I'm most proud of is our resourcefulness,鈥� said Pranow Jayakumar 鈥�26, the club's systems and controls lead. 鈥淲e were creative enough to look in places where other people might not, for parts, for advice, for everything. I'm proud of how much effort everyone put in to teaching themselves and learning quickly.鈥�

The team designed and built their race car from the ground up, giving students hands-on experience in mechanics, aerodynamics, electrical systems and controls, while also developing skills in project management, fundraising and leadership.

鈥淚 learned what it meant to lead a group. When things seem impossibly tough, you cannot be the one to say this is not going to work. When the situation gets tough, you're the one everyone else looks to for guidance. When the leader gives up, the whole team will give up, and the morale is down, so the morale starts with you,鈥� said club president and cofounder Alexi Macatuno 鈥�26.

Open to all students, the club has nearly 40 members from all majors including engineering, mathematics, pre-pharmacy, pre-dentistry, music and more. Last year, students from Delta College and Stockton high schools also joined the effort. The club receives funding from the student governing board ASUOP and from the School of Engineering and Computer Science to help cover travel costs and internship fees.

The team also does its own fundraising, repurposes materials from other Pacific projects and receives donations from family members and the community.

鈥淚f it's not coming from Solar Car members or their family, it's coming from the Stockton community,鈥� Macatuno said. 鈥淎ll our steel, all our carbon fiber, our resin, all the metal, all the welding experience, the plastic, it all comes from local businesses. It came together because people in the area believed in the project and believed in what we were doing.鈥�

Next steps for the club include cultivating partnerships with more local companies and expanding resources to improve their car. The club hopes to leave a legacy the next generation of students are excited to participate in and learn from as they did.

鈥淭he project helped me find my voice and gain a lot of confidence,鈥� said Ariana Desai '25, who helped cofound the club in 2022. 鈥淲hen you're as driven as we are, as individuals and as a group, it forces you to get good at learning on the spot. I feel like there's no problem or job or task I could be assigned that I couldn't figure out how to do now.鈥�