The seniors for the Olivet Nazarene Baja club are leaders for the club. A requirement for graduation for engineering majors is to lead the club. With a team of six seniors, they are in charge of all the decisions that need to be made for the club. They choose what they want to do with the kart for the year and what they are going to reuse from last year’s kart and what are they going to add new to this year’s kart. With decisions from picking parts, budgeting, and who is working on what this team of seniors gets some practical hands-on experience for their senior capstone.
Sam Goin
Sam Goin is a senior mechanical engineering major. Sam has loved his experience with the Baja team and getting real hands-on experience with this project. This is Sam’s first year on the team and has loved every second of it. Outside of his experience with the Baja club, Sam is currently working for an engineering firm two to three days a week while being a full-time student. One of the biggest challenges for Sam has been leading the team and making sure that everyone has something to do. He talked about how in the beginning stages of building the Kart, there wasn’t a lot to do for everyone but in the final stages, it’s been all hands on deck. Sam is grateful to be on this project and for giving him an opportunity to apply the skills that he’s learned to a final project.
James LeGrand
James LeGrand is a senior mechanical engineering major who is heavily involved in the department. Not only is he one of the leaders for the Baja club, he is also the secretary for the ASME club, the social media coordinator of the engineering club, and a member of the track and field team at Olivet. James appreciates all the time that he has spent in the Baja club every year at Olivet. He loves being a leader this year because it has given him the ability to apply his skills to a real project and also has given him the chance to work with other engineers. Some challenges that James faced was the requirements that SAE has for the karts to compete. He also came to the realization that not a lot of people on campus know about the Baja club and that anyone can get involved with it, not just engineering majors. James has a strong passion for engineering and he is continuing his passion at HydraForce after graduation.
Alex Detcher
Alex Detcheris a senior mechanical engineering major and is also a part of the ROTC program here at Olivet. This is Alex’s first year as a member of the Baja club and has enjoyed his time. He loves applying all the skills he learned in the classroom but also in the sports he played to be a part of the team. He loved watching the kart come together from nothing to a fully functioning kart. Alex has enjoyed his time as a leader on this team and is thankful for all of the experience that he has gained through this project.
Senior Presentation of Project
The senior engineering majors presented their project of their Baja Kart on April 20, 2022. Each senior shares their experience and the specifics of the project they worked on.
