Students Aren’t Just Building Robots… They’re Building A Brighter Future

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- The Humphrey Colosseum at Mississippi State University played host to the annual Best Robotics competition Saturday.

Teams from all over Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee competed for a chance to move on to Regionals.

Over 550 students competed in the competitions.

18 different teams built their very own robot and put it to the test.

However, the event wasn’t just focused on building robots– it was also helping to build a brighter future for the students involved.

“They’re learning skills that they didn’t have before and getting to see it all come together. That’s what I’m excited about! It’s Amazing!” says coach Bonita Melody Whitfield of the Eagle Home School Robotics Team.

“It’s a perfect opportunity for students to gain transferable skills, they get project management skills, they work with the engineering design process model, they’re learning so many skills that are going to be needed in Academia and in the workforce,” says Program Director Dr. Vemitra White.

The theme for this year’s competition is “Current Events,” and students are focused on building and marketing a robot that can collect trash from the ocean.

Each team has their own individual robot that will make its way down a track. The robot will have to reach over into a bin, grab a piece of trash and move it to the other end of the bin into the proper trash receptacle. The team with the most points wins the game.

Coach Michael Lane with Starkville Christian Home Educators says the competition isn’t just for students interested in Engineering.

“We’ve got to have students that can draw, we have to have our public speakers, people who write speeches and do power points,” says Lane.

The program is so influential that it’s actually inspired some students to pursue more scientific career options.

“It’s inspired me to pursue a degree in computer science, so it’s really been a big influence in my life, and I think it’s definitely something that students should consider doing,” says Christian Carver, a student with Starkville Christian Home Educators.

Coaches and event coordinators say inspiring young people is really what the program is all about.

“Oh, that just brings so much joy to my heart because that’s my own personal goal, to inspire, to empower, to get students exposed to stem-disciplines, more specifically engineering because I work in the college of engineering. I’m very very excited that this program, best robotics, has been able to have an impact on that babies life,” says White.

Six teams will be selected to move on to the regional competitions that are set to take place at Auburn.