Students from across Northwest Florida gathered Saturday for the “Shock and Awe Shakedown,” an Electrathon race featuring electric go-karts designed and built by local high schoolers.
- The event, sponsored by Florida Power & Light, drew former Electrathon participants who are now pursuing engineering degrees at universities across Florida and Georgia. Several returned to Navarre to support their alma maters and encourage current competitors.
Cody Munin, a West Florida High School graduate now studying mechanical engineering at the University of West Florida, said the program gave him a critical foundation for his college coursework.
“It prepared me a lot,” Munin said. “Electrathon is a lot of hands-on stuff and it’s also a lot of calculations, which is most of what mechanical engineering is. Right now, most of my classes focus on programming, running things through trial and error. That’s what Electrathon is.”
For current competitors, the program is already opening doors. One Navarre High School senior was recently accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to study mechanical engineering. Another will head to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the fall to pursue mechanical engineering and motorsports engineering.
Mia Hanrahan, a senior at Navarre High School, said Electrathon has shaped her career aspirations and expanded her community.
- “This is my passion,” Hanrahan said. “I’ve found so many career options through it and widened my social circle like triple. I have so many new people that I talk to that come up and ask me about the cars, and ask me about joining the team, and how this works.”
Hanrahan said her role has evolved since joining the team.
“Going from being the kid who joined the team and had to ask other people how something worked, to being the person asked — it feels incredibly rewarding,” she said.
The Electrathon program has students design and construct electric vehicles that meet competition specifications, applying engineering principles and balancing calculations with hands-on problem-solving.
FPL sponsors the program across Northwest Florida.
