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School, Sailing, and…Time?!

(Academics, Athletics, Class of 2012) Permanent link All Posts

This has been one busy semester! Between sailing and school, it is an understatement to say I have a few things on my plate. With that said, time has seemed to fly. Midterms are over, and Thanksgiving Leave is less than a month away.

While my last year as an undergraduate mechanical engineer thus far has been heavy in regard to workload, there is a definitely a sense of accomplishment with every lab report and project submitted. In addition to completing regular course work, every senior is well underway in making progress on their senior design capstone project. I am working with a group of friends to design and build a wind turbine that can be easily fabricated from recycled materials. The goal is to produce a product that can be built and used by communities and foreign nations that have limited access to power. We plan to have a functional prototype constructed prior to the end of the semester from purchased materials, and will work in the spring to further simplify the turbine and incorporate any recycled materials.

Outside of school, I have been traveling nearly every weekend with the sailing team. Unfortunately, there has been an overarching theme of a lack of wind for the entire season. This has required a lot of focus for the challenging conditions and of course less sailing and more waiting. We are less than two weeks away from the Kennedy Cup, the last regatta of our season and more prominently known as the national championship of collegiate big boat racing. We have a strong team of 6 seniors and 2 juniors and are practicing hard to finish the season strong.

I will keep you updated on how the sailing season comes to a close, how my senior project progresses, and of course, keep you informed of the exciting events of 1/c year. Good luck to any high school seniors currently working to submit their applications for the Academy!

More about Alex.

Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/10/2012 11:51 AM