Team Exothermic loves a good competition.
Made up of three Greenfield-Central High School juniors, the team’s gears are turning– literally and figuratively– as they work together to design and troubleshoot a robot to face off in competitions of speed and precision.
Vex Robotics is an educational robotic curriculum for all grade levels, preschool through pre-college. GCHS has been competing in Vex Robotics for 16 years, building a program that has evolved over time as it has grown in popularity across the state and nation.
Team Exothermic is one example of many over the years that has gained accolades for their design and programming of complex robots, in a program Greenfield-Central officials say prepares students for their futures far beyond the walls of the school.
Team Exothermic’s eagerness for robotics is contagious: Brayden Simpson, Simon Hopper and Hayley Schnecker take pride in their work. Competitions on Saturdays are a mix of know-how and luck since anything can go wrong.
“He’s my eyes for the field; she’s my eyes on the time. And I’m looking at the robot, to see what it’s doing ,” Simpson said.
“He loves to win,” Hopper said of Simpson. “Every time we go to a competition, he looks at the opponents and says, ‘We can win this.’”
Greenfield-Central became involved in Vex Robotics in the 2008-2009 school year, when there were only about a dozen teams across the state and competitions only two times a year.
Now, there are more than 300 high school teams across Indiana and over 20 opportunities to compete.
Perhaps what makes Greenfield-Central’s Vex Robotics programs stand out, students say, is how independent they can be. Teacher Nick Kerkhof is nearby to offer suggestions and he attends competitions. But the robots are student designed and driven. The problems that arise are theirs to solve.
“He lets us learn on our own, which allows us to build so much better,” said Simpson.
And that makes the victory of winning at competitions that much sweeter.
“I want the club to be as student centered as possible,” said Kerkhof, who teaches engineering and technology at GCHS. “I want the students to take ownership in their robot design, building, programming, and driving. I will usually provide them with suggestions when asked, or if I see things going off the deep end I will prompt them with questions to make them think about what they are doing.”
Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin said while it’s important for teachers to provide guidance and direction, great teachers understand the importance of allowing students to have a bit of a “productive struggle.”
“Our students are smarter than they think they are sometimes,” Olin said. “They have an uncanny ability to be problem-solvers, and Mr. Kerkhof truly sees this potential in his students.”
Vex Robotics helps prepare students for college or careers by applying concepts from math, science, technology and engineering in a hands-on game.
“There are alumni where robotics sparked an interest and helped lead them into a career field,” Kerkhof said. “We have alumni working in cyber security, mechanical engineering, software development, electrical engineering, data analysis, and agricultural engineering.”
Austin Robinson, for example, recently graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne and is seeking a job as a software engineer. He still volunteers to help the current GCHS students learn how to program.
“Robotics is single handedly the reason I chose to major in computer science,” Robinson said. “I didn’t know how to program at all before starting robotics, but after I learned to program the robots I knew that was what I wanted to pursue as a career.”
Caleb Stoeffler earned a degree in mechanical engineering technology from Purdue Polytechnic Anderson. He currently works at Photon Automation as a laser lab technician. While his job does not relate directly to robotics, he was able to apply mechanical and computer-aided design to his vocation.
“During my time as a competitor, I was the leader for eight years. This improved my leadership skills year after year and taught me important lessons in teamwork and self-accountability,” Stoeffler said. “Nick Kerkhof would also allow us to learn and grow on our own, letting the club and teams within think for themselves.”
Greenfield-Central High School has had great success over the years, competing in 10 regional events in Washington D.C., Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. GC has also competed in nine world championship events in Florida, California, Kentucky and Texas.
“We have one Indiana state championship, and have won 12 awards at the Indiana state championships. We have also won three awards at the world championships,” Kerkhof said.
But beyond the awards and the technical experience, students are gaining plenty of soft skills through robotics: teamwork, time management, project management, task prioritization, communication and more, Kerkhof said.
“Teams have to learn to balance school and the time it takes to develop a high-end robot,” he said. “Students learn project management through the steps of taking a robot from an idea to a finished product, oftentimes facing and conquering multiple setbacks along the way. Teams learn to communicate with not only their team members but judges and robotics students from other schools or organizations.”
Olin explained that the term “vex” can be used interchangeably with the word “puzzle.” Puzzles are solved best through teamwork. That’s why Greenfield-Central supports Vex Robotics at all levels– elementary, middle school and high school.
“Students learn transferable skills through the process that make them more equipped for the world beyond our school doors,” Olin said. “We are fortunate to have teachers and volunteers who also see the value in the program. As a result of this investment, G-C students are learning skills that make them leaders in a variety of settings in our world.”
By Maribeth Vaughn
