University High School ECE marine students competed in the Annual UConn Avery Point Cardboard Boat Race on Sept. 23.

The students were tasked to build a boat out of cardboard and duct tape that could race a set course using canoe paddles against ECE marine classes from other schools. “They had about a week and a half to design it, do research, and build the boat,” said Caryn Baseler, Magnet Coordinator and science teacher. “They did a very good job. Our boat did not take on much water.”

Mrs. Baseler said the students listened to presentations by UConn professors before competing against boats from about a dozen other schools.

“A few of them sank,” she said. “Not ours!”

UHSSE ECE marine students had split into different groups to complete their task of building a boat to race. “We had different groups, one group did social media to get awareness for our boat and… our job was to decorate and have a theme for the boat, we had builders who had to design a set or part that they wanted to put on the boat,” said Nasere Lewin ‘23.

The class had spent the last few weeks in the classroom working hard to build their boat and get it ready for the race competition.

Many UHSSE students participated in the boat race but a few demonstrated leadership roles throughout the process of building. “Owen Zielinski ’23, Mia Rodriguez ’23 took a lead when building the boat, and me, I was kind of in charge of the spirit team and then we had Pacey Mahar ’23 and Maanit Malhan ’23, they weren’t in our class but still helped build our boat,” said Lewin.

The UHSSE team placed 3rd in the race where their boat ended up floating. Lewin felt that the boat could have done better, that the thickness of their boat is what slowed it down, causing them to be slower than the boats who got 1st and 2nd place.

Lewin also says that “it was a good experience” and that if he had the chance to do it again he would.