A ComEd program originally designed to foster teenage girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math has expanded in its 10th year to include boys, doubling its size and impact, organizers say.

Of the 60 students selected to build and race electric go-karts over two weeks at Chicago’s Fields Studio, eight were from the south and southwest suburbs, according to ComEd.

They include Arielle Brazelton, a rising senior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School who was working to connect wires to power headlights for the Teal Team’s go-kart.

Brazelton said during Thursday’s go-kart building session she was able to venture into computer science and engineering thanks to classes available at her school, which is how she ended up at a local STEM expo and heard about the ComEd program.

“I was talking to my teachers about this too, and they told me it was a good opportunity,” she said. “I love building, I love robotics, so I was like, why would I not do this? … And it kind of put me one step further and one step closer to what I want to do.”

ComEd Senior Communications Manager John Schoen said the program was designed to offer a space for girls to gain practical knowledge and make connections in a male-dominated industry.

But as the experience evolved from building karts out of old refrigerators to electric vehicles, interest grew.

“We had a lot of parents say, ‘oh, I wish I had something like this for my son,’” Schoen said.

Schoen said he also noticed families willing to travel long distances to participate, with the program this year seeing students from as far away as Rockford. ComEd provided meals and a seating area for families during Thursday’s 2 1/2-hour build session.

The 30 boys and 30 girls were each split into teams of five, each with a different color. They will race their go-karts during their race day and final session together from noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 1.

Each student, ranging from age 13 to 18, will receive a $1,000 scholarship at the end of the program. The south suburban students hail from Homewood, Steger, Mokena, Chicago Heights and Sauk Village, according to ComEd.

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A member of the yellow team poses for photos in the electric go-kart at The Field Studios in Chicago. (Nate Swanson/for the Daily Southtown)

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“It’s really interesting because they come from all over the place,” Schoen said. “But it happens every year where they get together and these teams just gel so fast, and they’re just brain sharing. They’re on the same wavelength in that way, and they’re all getting to do something they like.”

Bloom Trail High School student Tristan Duhem said the team-building aspect of the ComEd experience was a little out of his comfort zone at first, as he learned mechanical engineering through his dad and is used to working alone on dirt bikes, four-wheelers and go-karts.

But the camaraderie built through his small group helped foster a fun rivalry among the teams ahead of the Saturday race.

“We actually finished before everyone else,” he said coming into Thursday’s session. “We’ve been pretty competitive so far, talking smack a little bit.”

Duhem said his team has been able to develop an assembly line style of rhythm after working with each other for several sessions, and the program has only invigorated his interest in pursuing similar work as a career.

“Getting into stuff like this, you realize nothing’s ever really broken,” he said. “You just have to fix it.”

Schoen said students also receive direct mentoring from ComEd employees as part of the program, and past participants have gone on to work at ComEd.

Anna Jaskoviak, 27, of Aurora, who worked with Brazelton and the Teal Team Thursday, said she was excited to see the program grow to include boys after serving as a mentor for the past three years.

“From the times we do things as a group, the boys can be more outgoing at times, and I think that it can be encouraging for the girls to be like, you’re got to speak up to ask questions,” Jaskoviak said.

Jaskoviak said “it was pretty seamless” creating a coed experience, and the boys and girls have been friendly and accommodating toward each other throughout the building process.

What hasn’t changed is the opportunity for teenage girls to learn and become inspired by each other, according to Ashley Weatherspoon, of Skokie, who completed the program last year.

“What I found kind of interesting about the program, and kind of most impactful, was being around all these girls and being reminded just how smart and successful other girls could be,” Weatherspoon said.

ostevens@chicagotribune.com