Fall 1997
|
Fall 1997 |
|
A stuffed monkey proved to be a special good luck charm for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Solar Phantom race team during Sunrayce -- thanks to a heart-warming encounter with a hearing-impared teenage boy from Fulton, Mo. The teen was among central Missouri residents that came to see the futuristic solar cars as they charged their batteries at Fulton High School on June 21. Fascinated by the scene, he innocently came close to the cars’ large solar panels, casting a shadow that hindered the charging ability of the battery pack for the next day of racing. Many teams politely asked the boy to step aside from the array. Confused and unable to communicate with the solar racers, he became frustrated and disappointed. That’s when Solar Phantom team member Robyn Hartmann came to the rescue. Recalling simple sign language techniques from a high school communications class, the sophomore electrical engineering student struck up a friendship with the teen. "I know the basics and that seemed to be good enough for him. He just wanted someone that could speak his language," Hartmann said. Within minutes, the Rose-Hulman student became the boy’s translator to a new world. She led him around the charging area, explained what it was like to drive a solar car and answered questions about solar energy. "It just seemed to be the right thing to do. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal," Hartmann said. Oh, but it was to the hearing-impaired student. The next day, he came back to Sunrayce’s Day 3 starting ceremonies to repay Hartmann’s act of kindness -- bringing a colorful sketch of Rose-Hulman’s Solar Phantom and the stuffed monkey, the boy’s "Lucky Monkey", according to his parents. It certainly proved up to its word during Sunrayce and provided one of the best human interest stories of this year’s cross country adventure. "It’s amazing how you can touch someone’s life," Hartmann said.
  |