WRHS students successful at F1 In Schools national competition

TILTON — Nine students and two teachers representing Winnisquam Regional High School, recently headed to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2024 F1 In Schools U.S. and Canadian National Finals competition.

These students began their journey to the finals on the first day of the 2023-24 school year with the introduction of the F1 In Schools course. Throughout the year, students enrolled in this class established racing teams, assigned team roles — team manager, resource manager, sponsorship and marketing manager, graphic designer, design engineer and manufacturing engineer — developed unique team branding as well as designed and built a car that met the required specifications and secured team sponsorships.

While in Charlotte, the students were evaluated on a variety of elements including their verbal presentation, their car design and build, reaction and knock out racing, enterprise and engineering portfolios, pit display and engineering interview.

Although Teams Cosmic Ray-Cing and STS Aerospace Juno presented well in the racing competition, they excelled in other areas of the event. Team Cosmic Ray-Cing was recognized as a nominee/finalist for the Team Management Award and was selected as the winner of the Sponsorship and Marketing Award. Team STS Aerospace Juno was recognized as a nominee/finalist for the Women in Motor Sports Award and was selected as the winner of the Verbal Presentation Award.

Throughout their time at the completion, the teams also received additional positive feedback for their presentations. Chief Program Office of F1 in Schools North America Merritt Kendzior told WRHS F1 In Schools teacher Kevin VanGorden that she was “very impressed with the WRHS first year teams.”

During the awards ceremony, the announcer presenting the Verbal Presentation Award said, “Congratulations for knocking the socks off our judges with your verbal presentation.”

F1 in Schools is dedicated to introducing students to engineering, project management, branding and marketing, and teamwork through Formula One racing. With competitions taking place in 51 countries across the world, and opportunities throughout the U.S. and Canada, F1 in Schools is one of the largest global educational programs that raise awareness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among students.

Superintendent Dr. Shannon Bartlett said, “We are happy to be able to offer innovative programming at WRHS that fosters essential 21st Century skills in communication, collaboration, critical-thinking, and creativity. F1 In Schools builds leadership capacity and opens doors to internships and future career opportunities our students would not have had otherwise. We are so proud of STS Aerospace Juno and Cosmic Ray-cing teams’ performance at Nationals and look forward to growing and expanding on their success next year.”