Joyriding

Senior Design Project Benefits Local Boy With Rare Disorder

Every Senior Design project makes an impact on the students who develop them, but not every project makes an impact on the community. This year’s Go Baby Go! project is the exception to the rule.

A Senior Design team of mechanical engineering students partnered with UCF’s Go Baby Go! program to create a ride-on car for a local 4-year-old boy with a rare disorder.

Evan Schaefer was born with Snijders Blok-Campeau Syndrome, which limits his muscle function and mobility. The ride-on car gives him the ability to move around on his own.

The Senior Design team, which includes mechanical engineering majors Zachary Whitacre, Rishi Basdeo, Sophie Hill, Hunter Brake and Dakota Valentine, worked with the Schaefer family for a year to determine what Evan would need from the UCF-themed toy car. They included a joystick for maneuvering as well as a button that plays his favorite sounds when pressed.

UCF has partnered with the national Go Baby Go! initiative, which provides modified ride-on cars to children with disabilities, for the past six years.

View the USA Today coverage of this story at bit.ly/UCFGoBabyGo.