Armada Robotics started in 2007 in Stillwater and has grown into something much bigger. The team helps prepare students for future careers and college opportunities by teaching teamwork, problem-solving and hands-on technical skills. Team members Madison Johnston and Emma Yates along with Physics teacher Chris Mentz, shared their experiences with the robotics team and the benefits they see from participating, including increased confidence, leadership development, and exposure to real-world engineering challenges. Their first competition is Feb. 21, giving students a chance to learn about different careers while applying what they have practiced in real-world situations.

A study from the University of California states that joining an extracurricular activity is positively related to students’ college experience, which includes a sense of belonging and academic satisfaction and learning outcomes like GPA, timely graduation and long-term impact on earnings after graduation.

Yates said robotics has helped her prepare for the future. “Since I want to be an engineer in the future, it’s a good way to start gaining experience at a young age, so that the colleges will look at your application,” she said.

Participation in robotics gives students hands-on experience with skills they may use in future careers, including problem solving, collaboration and technical design. The program also exposes students to a variety of career paths and provides insight into how professional teams operate in real-world environments.

“Being in robotics creates social skills and teamwork because they all have to work together,” Mentz added.

Joining the team helps students meet new friends while also improving their communication skills. Team members learn how to share ideas, work through challenges together and collaborate effectively in a group setting, which are important skills for both school and future careers. Yates speaks on how she’s even “learned how to book hotel rooms, make merch and even sell it,” showing how versatile and the opportunities they can gain from joining the robotics team.

The robotics team is preparing for their first competition of the season. Members are spending their meeting time building, testing and practicing in hopes of performing their best.

Johnston shares that her favorite part of robotics is “the kickoff is always fun. When we learn what we’re going to be building for the year. And those days are always really fun, because we’re typically here really late, and it’s a lot of team building and learning more about robotics, and it’s really fun.”

This year, teams have just over a month to design, build and program their robot. The game was released on Jan. 10 and Week Zero competition is on Feb. 21, giving us only about a month and a half to complete the entire robot before competition. “We only have about a month and a half to actually build the robot and program design it,” Yates said.

According to Benjamin Franklin International School, school clubs are key to developing critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, leadership and collaboration skills, among others. Students are challenged to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to existing problems.

“The robotics team is not dissimilar from any other team. It’s about teamwork and division of labor and working together for a common goal,” Mentz said. This shows the robotics team helps students grow as people through the challenges they face.

Overall, Armada Robotics represents more than just building robots; it builds problem-solving skills with it, along with teamwork and confidence through collaboration, trial, error and creativity. Students gain real-world skills that prepare them for future careers while creating a strong sense of pride and community within our school. Through competitions, meetings and hands-on projects, members learn how to overcome challenges, support one another and apply what they learn in meaningful ways both inside and outside the club.