SUMMER SOLAR ENGINEERING CAMP EXPERIENCE

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September 11, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Notre Dame Prep senior Paolo Fregoli builds and races solar car at University of Michigan summer camp, finishes in first place. Also talks about how NDP has prepped him for college and life. 

The University of Michigan’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department hosts a number of non-residential engineering tech camps for high school students during each summer. The camps, which began in 2015, provide hands-on engineering experiences to attendees and are taught by top U-M engineering faculty who allow students to experience a world-class college environment and campus.

According to Paolo Fregoli, a senior at Notre Dame Prep who participated in this year's Electrify Tech Camp, he learned about basic circuits, working with breadboards, LEDs, capacitors, diodes, inductors and switches, among others. 

"We even created fun circuits to take home," he said. "We then moved on to creating solar cells in the Lurie Nanofabrication Facility, starting with a basic wafer and transforming it into a working solar panel."

First-place finish

Fregoli said the culmination of the camp, however, involved designing and building scale-model solar cars. 

"Each student spent the entire week creating, designing and perfecting their solar car, which required eight solar panels, a chassis and a structure to hold the panels in place," he said. "We were given the freedom to configure our solar panels differently, angle them for maximum efficiency, and decide whether to prioritize amps or current for our car’s performance."

On the last day of the program, Fregoli and his fellow campers put their cars through a series of challenges, including long- and short-distance races, uphill courses and obstacle courses. Fregoli's car performed flawlessly, winning every event and ultimately taking first place in the competition.

With a longtime keen interest in engineering as a career, Fregoli now looks forward to applying to U-M's College of Engineering.

"I’ve always been passionate about engineering, particularly mechanical engineering, but I wanted to explore electrical and computer engineering as well," he said.

Education for life 

When asked what his ultimate takeaway was from the camp, Fregoli said it was a huge game-changer.

"The Electrify camp completely changed my perspective on the world today," he noted. "Every little computer is designed by an electrical engineer, with the goal of making them smaller and more efficient. Understanding basic circuitry has inspired me to start designing and programming a home automation system that can control various devices like the garage door, lights, thermostat, curtains and shades — all from a mobile device."

Now well into the first semester of his final year at NDP, Fregoli is unequivocal about his time on campus.

"The school’s mission has deeply influenced me at Notre Dame Prep," he said. "It has shaped my character, instilling in me values of integrity, compassion and responsibility. Academically, it has pushed me to strive for excellence, while spiritually, it has guided me to live with purpose and empathy. This mission has been a constant reminder of the importance of balancing personal achievement with moral integrity and community involvement, preparing me not just for college, but for life as a whole."

 

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndprep.org.