Seniors Adolfo Diaz and Tommy Tran, placed second in Skills U.S.A. at Nationals.
“It felt unreal to place at nationals,” Tran said.
It all started with a simple conversation with their engineering teacher Adam Skrdla about competing in the additive manufacturing contest. The contest involved in making a model car with moving parts.
“We set goals to achieve in our project. It took a lot of trial and error to perfect our car,” Diaz said.
After two months of work they competed at state level.
“We won first place at state but they thought we cheated,” Tran said.
This is because the judges felt Diaz and Tran printed plans for their car off of the internet, due to the intricacies and quality. However, the two simply put in a great deal of time and effort to create their entry.
They based their car off a Bugatti, but added their own details. Then it took them five hours and 20 minutes to 3D print the car.
“We expected to go to nationals but we were unsure about placing at nationals,” Diaz said.
Team G, Diaz and Tran, stayed in Louisville, Kentucky to compete at nationals.
“It felt unreal knowing that our work paid off in the best way possible,” Diaz said.
Going into a engineering as a career is what they have in mind.
“It’s something that has been on my mind since I was little,” said Diaz.
Both Diaz and Tran have UNL on top of their list for college. They are also working on going to state and nationals for Skills U.S.A. again this year.
