Keydi Auxume-Soto built a miniature masterpiece, complete with intricate details and thoughtful research, that earned her third place in the Transportation Modeling category at the Technology Student Association’s (TSA) state competition.
A junior at iLEAD Academy, Keydi took on the challenge and brought together her love of design, engineering, and architecture to create a 3D-printed food truck prototype.
“This was a really fun project,” she said. “If you like to design, it’s really interesting. I used Fusion 360 to create it, and then I printed it.”
The prompt required students to design a realistic model of a food truck. For Keydi, the hardest part was understanding what made a food truck work. She spent hours researching, asking food truck owners for insight, and investigating how the vehicles are organized and operated.
“I didn’t really know how a food truck worked, so I asked questions and looked at the inside of real ones,” she said. “There are so many details to include.”
Keydi designed multiple versions before finalizing her model. She began with sketches on paper before transferring the idea to a digital format. Alongside the physical model, she created a bilingual portfolio written in both Spanish and English that illustrated and explained every component of her project.
Though she won’t be advancing to nationals, Keydi said the experience at state was rewarding. “I really liked going to state. It was fun and helped me communicate better,” she said. “English is not my first language, so talking with others and learning about their projects helped me a lot.”
Keydi’s passion for design and precision fit perfectly with her plans to pursue a career in engineering or architecture.