Colton, CA— On Aug. 1st, 2023, Colton Water and Power recognized Colton High School’s STEAM Club for their work in the Inland Solar Challenge.
17 students were recognized for their contribution on the boating team. The five in attendance included lead welder Josiah Diggs; boat builder Briana McMullen; presenter Junior Morales; lead presenter Nicole Valadez; pilot, Mia Zamora. Not in attendance were Jesus Castillo, Jose Benjamin Velarde, Christian Heredia, Marco Hernandez, Estafani Perez, Juliette Echauregui, Samuel Duran, Ralph Delgado, Jacob Serrano, Uriel Morales, Allison Favela and Adriana Bissonette.
The event opened with a speech by Senior Water Conservation Specialist Cecilia Grigego about the students’ hard work. She presented a short video about the competition, focused on the effort and excitement of the Inland Solar Challenge, which took place in May. Students and advisors were then invited one by one to receive their certificates of achievement.
“I’m impressed by the students and their journey,” said Daniel Hearon, STEAM teacher and lead advisor of the STEAM Club.
Senior Water Conservation Specialist Cecilia Grigego has been involved with the Inland Solar Challenge for 13 years. Over that time, she had been eagerly waiting for one of Colton’s schools to compete. “Our main priority here was to get a Colton school, so we reached [out to] all the schools that either we serve water to, or our students go to. So we reached [out] to Colton High School and Grand Terrace High School, and Dan was so eager.”
For lead welder Josiah Diggs, the award was a meaningful gesture. “It means a lot,” he said. ‘It means I actually get seen outside of the high school, inside of city hall.”
Lead Presenter Nicole Valadez was excited for her teammates as a community of friends. “I’m thrilled to be here today, and we’ve all known each other, so it’s like a little group of friends achieving something.”
The Colton High solar boating team began work last November in order to compete in the annual Inland Solar Challenge event held in May at Yucaipa Regional Park. In their first year, the team placed 5th in a pool of 10 local teams, including Cajon High School. In addition to creating a solar-powered boat that they competed with in multiple racing events, the team also presented a public service announcement about water conservation to a group of judges.
With all this in mind, mayor Frank Navarro was very proud of the students for their hard work. “I think they did an awesome job, they’re all Colton students. I’m very proud of them. It shows their creativity and commitment to their hopefully future studies.”
