By Gabriella Scozzafava
Herald Correspondent
A Lake Mary High School project saved Seminole County over $16,000 in election equipment replacement costs. A student in the manufacturing program created a replacement part for the office’s ballot printers.
Amy Pennock, Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, said there was a small part of the printers’ paper tray that would fall out and get lost. The piece holds the paper in place for accurate pulling and printing during the early voting times of the elections, and without it, the paper could misprint or jam.
Lake Mary High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum leader and technical design instructor, Christopher Endress, said he agreed to look into the problem after speaking with Pennock about it during an eighth-grade open house night. Pennock believed it could be an opportunity for his students to create a real-world solution.
Endress said he originally planned to have a few of his senior-level students attempt a solution. However, one of his sophomore students, Ethan Sigal, asked to take on the project after finishing his work early. Endress said Sigal had the piece designed in the industry-standard CAD software Autodesk Inventor by the end of the class period, and it fit perfectly when they 3D-printed it.
“The part works extremely well,” Pennock said. “The original parts show wear and tear and some are loose in the fitting, these new parts fit nice and tight and hold the paper in place.”
The project helped the office save significant funds and plastic waste. Pennock said the cost of the replacement trays is typically $125 per tray, and the office has 150 trays, while the cost through the school was $15 each.
Not only did the project benefit the county, but it also enabled students to develop practical skills they can use in their future careers. Sigal’s design required precise measurements, testing, technical engineering knowledge, problem-solving and communication with a client. While Endress gives students real-world practice regularly, he said opportunities like this are rare but meaningful.
“I think this shows that CTE programs are a big benefit to the community and it shows what kids can do to give back when they are given the opportunity,” Endress said. “Students who take the time to get the most out of their CTE classes are striving for every opportunity to show the community what they are capable of.”
Pennock said she hopes to continue to provide opportunities like this in the future. Partnerships between the Supervisor of Elections Office and schools help students gain hands-on experience with the election process, she said.
“We want to engage them in any way that we can so they are interested in the elections process and will register and vote when they become eligible,” Pennock said.
