Applied Technology Center Students Taking Rat Rods to State House

Applied Technology Center (ATC) students from the automotive/auto body programs have been accepted into the first annual CTE Student Showcase at the State Capitol (SC Statehouse). The showcase will feature the best high-quality career and technical education programs from across the state of South Carolina. Mr. Ron Roveri, director of ATC, put in an application and letter of interest for his program to be selected. The application was approved and the two ATC rat rod cars were selected for this prestigious student showcase.

“The students went to Vegas back in November 2022 to another showcase where the rat rods were a huge hit,” Roveri said. “These cars show the students' creativity and ingenuity.”

The rat rod cars are designed and built completely by the students. The cars are working vehicles that are made up of parts from other vehicles. The pieces came from several different cars unique parts like a growler from Legal Remedy Brewing.

“It definitely takes a lot of hard work," said Nicholas B., a student who has worked on the project long term. "You can take weeks or months during the most tedious task and trying to get everything right, which is obviously difficult and annoying at the same time."

The project, which took years to complete, combines several classes all working together – design, engineering, welding, automotive, and collision repair. Using critical thinking skills, the students were able to turn all the different parts into a usable vehicle.

 “It’s very rewarding when you’re done because you get to see everyone's reactions to it and they're like ‘oh my gosh, I've never seen this before’, which makes me very excited and happy,” Kaitlyn V. said. 

The showcase will take place on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at the South Carolina State House. Check out what the students had to say in this video: