
A beaming Baby Harrison, with one of Mercer engineering students, reacts to the attention he is getting as he looks at his new car.

At Mercer University, “Baby” Harrison is fascinated with the plastic model of the miniature car which will be built for him. He loves cars, trucks and trains. Born with no arms and suffering from scoliosis, Harrison can speak in full sentences and was able to voice his delight at the little car which will open new doors for him. Submitted Photos

Harrison’s big day: Harrison’s family, upper left, along with Mercer engineering students and faculty who retrofitted the car, pose for photo with their star pupil, after a luncheon and presentation ceremony in Harrison’s honor. Dr. Mac is at upper right.
Dr. Mac opened his MIA presentation with the statement that the GBG program would enable severely disabled children to get out of the house and into the world… under their own power. Within a week of taking the project on, the Mercer students did exactly that. On the Saturday, after a week of preparations, Harrison’s parents brought him in to Mercer, for a final fitting and last minute adjustments. This included a trial run for Harrison outside. At a later luncheon, celebrating the event, Harrison got his car.
There were 15 MIA students selected to sit in on Dr. Mac’s presentation. “We chose three seniors who have been trailblazers within our STEM program on campus,” said Assistant Principal, Amber Richardson. “We then chose 9th, 10th, and 11th graders who have an affinity for STEM and loving hearts who might be inspired to participate in this program on our campus in the future.” Tellingly, six of the 15 were freshmen. They, along with the others, seemed excited and moved by what the program could do for infants like Harrison.
Freshman, Kirra Polley, is a top student and star goalie with MIA’s record breaking girls soccer team. She was impressed with the way Dr. Mac and his students never let the children down, despite the difficulties involved “We have many students that are interested in robotics, engineering and helping others for the greater good,” she said, “I would absolutely be interested in being a member of the Go Baby Go program. It’s a great way to help the children and people in the community.”
Freshman, Johnny Watt, also a top student and a star of MIA’s basketball team, was also impressed with Dr. Mac’s presentation. This is a wonderful idea, he said, as it gives MIA another way to help our community and at the same time, bring smiles to children’s’ faces. Johnny says he enjoys engineering and would “most definitely” be interested in participating in the GBG program. “This seems like a fun, helpful way to combine my love of young children and engineering” he said, “In my opinion, the most impressive part of the presentation was the quick thinking of the engineers working on the cars when [seemingly insurmountable problems arose].” Johnny would relish being a part of that.
And so, when in the course of the next school year, you see a grinning child on an outing with his parents, powering himself down the sidewalk in a miniature Pixar or Maserati, you’ll know where it came from.
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