STEM Adventures

BEST robotics was a terrific opportunity for me to engage in a hands-on engineering project as a high school student. It enabled me to learn from my parents and teachers. It encouraged team work with my peers and it inspired an interest in science and engineering. BEST also emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning, an attitude which is of critical importance in my life today.

Ben B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University

The things I enjoyed most while participating in BEST were the ability to apply subjects I was learning in school at the time, like geometry, to building a robot, the adrenaline rush I got when operating the robot in front of a crowd during the competition, and the sense of belonging to a team made up of great friends.

Nathan B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Military Institute

I really enjoyed the entire process, from documenting our brainstorming to the excitement of game day. My favorite part of the process was the CAD modeling that detailed every aspect of our robot. Though I competed before the introduction of a programming aspect to the robotics competition, my interest in technical things was certainly amplified by my experiences, and did steer me ultimately towards a programming degree.

Sam B.S. Math/Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery

I am constantly dealing with the same sorts of challenges I faced as the president of BEST. When equipment breaks, I induct it into the maintenance cycle while finding an alternative means of accomplishing the mission - this reminds me of moments in BEST where we realized a particular design was no longer plausible, but we found a solution anyway. Dealing with the constant pressure of deadlines, the adrenaline of moments that decide your mission’s success or failure, and presenting ideas in front of a group are all lessons that I dealt with in BEST and I am very grateful for those experiences.

Timothy B.A. French, Auburn University

During my time with BEST Robotics, I got to experience the engineering process, from brainstorming to competitively operating our team’s invention against other schools. It was a lot of hard – but fun – work. By my second year, I settled more fully into my role as the Vice President of Marketing, where I “marketed” our product to anyone who would listen. I organized visits to different schools to demonstrate our robot, and invited reporters to cover our team in local news. BEST gave me an opportunity to participate in the engineering process, while also gaining public speaking and public relations experience. How cool is that?

Michael B.S. Finance, Louisiana State University

Being a part of the robotics team helped to shape my future because it forced me to focus and work hard to complete a sometimes difficult task. Life is full of these difficult tasks and without the skills honed as a part of teams like this robotics team, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Andrew B.S. Supply Chain Management, Auburn University

BEST was my first introduction to engineering. I loved getting to see all parts of the process and learn from older team members. As a freshman in college, largely because of my experience with BEST, I joined Alabama Astrobotics, a team competing in NASA’s Robotic Mining Competition. From initial brainstorming, to design, construction, and testing, to the extensive documentation of our systems engineering process, to all the late nights, and especially the excitement (and exhaustingly hard work) of game day, my experience with BEST was incredibly helpful in preparing me to contribute to and learn as much as I could.

Rebecca B.S. Aerospace Engineering, The University of Alabama

Though I didn’t know it at the time, BEST was to be the start of what has become a wild and wonderful life in engineering. It was terrific to work with good friends and to learn how to design, build, and market a real-life, awesome, and working (mostly) robot. BEST was a fantastic introduction to the engineering process and an even better introduction to the pitfalls and problems that plague any engineering project. The skills I learned were invaluable when working on projects. Engineering is an exciting and beautiful thing, and, for me at least, there was no better way to get started than to be part of the BEST robotics team.

Stewart M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville

BEST Robotics was a wonderful experience that taught teamwork and the joy of achieving a goal together. Now, my job relies on these skills as I work on a team every day. The BEST competition theme was chemistry-related while I was on the team, sparking my love of chemistry and eventually leading to my career choice. We worked hard and laughed even harder; both the lessons learned and the memories made with friends are why I value my time as a part of BEST Robotics.

Carrie Pharm.D, Samford University