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By ‘A’ali’i Dukelow
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Waialua, HI (KITV) – Waialua Intermediate & High School senior Rhea Arellano is class president, is a member of the National Honor Society and plays the flute for the school orchestra.
As if his schedule didn’t seem busy enough, Arellano has also been a 6-year member of the school’s robotics team, one of four members who create covers for catalytic converters.
“I really enjoy helping people and using the skills I have learned from this team to help members of our community,” said Arellano.
A catalytic converter is a device attached to the bottom of a car needed to filter emissions – and has become a popular target among thieves because it contains precious metal.
Last year, 289 thefts of catalytic converters were reported in O’ahu.
To combat the alarming trend, the robotics team at Waialua high began manufacturing catalytic converter shields about three months ago.
“Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options here locally and a lot of times the stores buy these things on the mainland or elsewhere, and by the time they ship them here and install them, it gets very expensive,” Glenn said, robotics teacher at Waialua High. Lee said.
In addition to helping prevent crime, students on the robotics team agree that creating catalytic converter covers is an invaluable learning experience.
Arellano said the opportunity teaches him “how I can implement what I’m learning here in the real world”.
The price of a shield ranges from $ 225 to $ 500, depending on the make and model of the vehicle.
According to Lee, the bill to replace a stolen catalytic converter is around $ 1,000.
So far, the team has installed shields on 40 cars.
The club charges customers for materials, not installation, and all proceeds go directly to the program.
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