Due to the generosity of our grant donors, my students were able to build the Hero Bot for this year's VEX robotics competition. Building the Hero Bot was a primary focus for one of my classes of 25 and a dozen Robotics Club students. However, all of my engineering classes can continue to benefit from the VEX equipment because it is durable and can be repurposed and reused for years by hundreds of students.  

Overall, having my students build VEX robots provided a unique opportunity to compete with other schools and gain hands-on learning. In addition, they learned technical skills and were exposed to teamwork, communication, and problem-solving challenges. These experiences have helped my students foster a passion for innovation and develop the soft skills needed to stay motivated and competitive in the face of challenges.