Wind roared against Solly Mervis's eardrums. Air pulsed through his helmet, slapping his face at 125 miles per hour. Vrrrrroooom. The engine and the exhaust rumbled beneath him. Mervis gripped the brakes, feeling every ounce of the weight of the motorcycle beneath him. He whipped around a curve, the pavement squealing beneath his tires.

The bike tugged, a bucking bronco with a mind of its own. Mervis pulled hard, fighting to keep it under control. Sailing around the track, he whooped. His crew cheered, high-fiving as he passed another racer. A young child watched from the stands, perhaps feeling inspired because he saw himself in Mervis whizzing around the track.

Mervis, a first-year mechanical engineering major at Rose-Hulman from Carmel, Indiana, built his passion for motorcycles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not wanting to sit idly during the lockdown period, Mervis and his father began to rebuild an old dirt bike. Mervis quickly discovered he loved everything about the bikes - including racing.

Mervis just finished his third season of racing motocycles and his first year racing professionally in the Junior Cup of MotoAmerica. MotoAmerica features seven classes of motorcycle road racing, according to its website.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie," he said. "It's so exhilarating. When you get that great lap putting it all together, it is the most fun experience ever."

 Mervis's thrills aren't his alone; his four-person crew supports his growth, helping him train, learn the fastest techniques, and keep his bike in prime condition.

"I love team sports," Mervis said.

He's found that same sense of camaraderie reflected at Rose-Hulman. "Rose is just the feeling of being on a team."

"I love the camaraderie that we have in the residence halls," he explained. "I love all the people that I've met and who I've been able to hang around. I love going to all of our sporting events and cheering on other Rose-Hulman athletes."

In fact, the "immense support structure" was part of why Mervis chose Rose over several other schools.

Rose-Hulman, like racing, requires drive - the "relentless pursuit of speed," as Mervis described it.                  

"Sometimes, crashing and pushing the limits are part of the sport," he said. His crashes and "failures" drive him to innovate and improve - a lesson valuable in college and engineering as well.

Racing also gives Mervis a track to leave an impact. Mervis has ADHD and PDD-NOS, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified. PDD-NOS is a form of autism that has since been absorbed into the larger autism spectrum disorder umbrella.

Though he has faced obstacles, Mervis is confident that his autism and ADHD have played a key role in his success. He hopes to spread autism awareness through his racing, encouraging others not to feel limited by a diagnosis.  He races with an autism banner and flag on his bike and is developing ways to give back to the Summer Treatment Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, a program he credits for his growth.

"If I had an endless amount of money, I would put one of those camps in every single major city," Mervis said. "They forced me to think about the world in a different way, and they forced me to get out of my comfort zone, which I will be forever grateful for."

Mervis hopes to dispel the stigma surrounding autism, noting that "it's just another thing that you have to learn how to control and master," much like how he's learned to master his motorcycle as he races through curves. He is looking forward to his next racing season in the spring, where he hopes to inspire other students with autism to ignite their passions, both in an academic course and on the race course.