Mallory Gaspard, '15

Mallory Gaspard, ’15, spent over a year following her passions and taking a project from idea to reality. In 2013, teacher Garrett Rosen offered to mentor Mallory as she immersed herself in the study of biophysics. Her studies led her to a fascination with solar power, and Mallory teamed up with Drew Broussard, ’14, to design and build a solar-powered charging station for cell phones that could be used in parks and public spaces.

Mallory wrote a research paper on the topic, ending with plans for a solar panel. The team secured funding, and as Drew graduated, Mallory took over the project. With Mr. Rosen’s help, she used a table saw to cut Plexiglas (a real challenge) and spent hours soldering the individuals cells together. With a working panel consisting of three rows of ten cells, Mallory and Mr. Rosen built the cabinet and painted it ESA blue. Unsure of how to wire the battery to the panel, Mallory asked the staff of Acadiana Solar to oversee her work. At the end of a day using the tools at Acadiana Solar, Mallory plugged her phone in for the first time — and it began charging.

“My ideas are my babies. I have a lot. Not all of them come to life, but this one did. It’s the first major thing I’ve dreamt up that made it to the world.” Unfortunately, the original design didn’t produce enough electricity to keep the battery charged, so Mallory designed an extension, adding 12 more cells to create a 22 volt panel. Mallory’s SolCell station will be installed on the ESA library porch as a solar powered charging station for student devices.

As the project evolved, Dr. Baker put Mallory in touch with the Physics Department at the University of Louisiana, whose professors were coordinating SMART (Science Meets ART) Festival. At the October festival, Mallory presented her work to the public.

“People were excited to see that there’s a kid doing something like this,” she says. “People say you can’t do it. I don’t understand that. They are faced with the unknown and they retreat.” Retreat is not familiar to Mallory. She plans to study material science and engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In choosing a college, she looked for the thing she loves most about ESA — the relationships she found here.

“Community — you don’t understand what that means until you get here. It’s like a giant family,” she says. “Relationships. That word hits at the heart of the ESA experience. I have fantastic friends and teachers. I have the most meaningful relationships with so many faculty members here.”