VEX Robotics

"Joining VEX robotics was a pivotal point in my life, because it propelled me towards becoming a mechanical engineer. The experience helped me gain a scholarship to help pay for college, which consequently allowed me to pursue a graduate degree. The early exposure to robotics, through VEX, helped me excel in my undergraduate studies and fostered a desire to learn more about robotics specifically. As a result, I am working towards a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University where I am working on space robotics specifically. I started building small robots for VEX, and now I am working on a lunar rover called MoonRanger in collaboration with NASA. After I complete my graduate degree, I hope to continue a career in building robots to help advance our world."

"Robotics helped me develop my creativity and strengthen my engineering skills, while gaining valuable knowledge and hands-on experience. I began working with VEX Robotics in the summer of 2006 and competed until I graduated college in 2017. The ability to gain experience of working on a team, including the business, engineering, and the competition sides of robotics, enabled me to grow as an individual and helped me to transition into my engineering job at SpaceX. My favorite memory was definitely traveling to Los Angeles to compete in the 2014 VEX U World Championships in the first year after founding the BUFF team. We ended up completely redesigning our robots the week of Worlds and ended up in 5th place after qualifying and then making it into the playoffs!"

"I never thought when I was younger I would be interested in robotics until I found out about VEX Robotics. I started competing in 8th grade, 2012, and immediately knew that I had found my passion. I was able to not only develop solutions to a challenge, but I could express myself creatively by solving challenges in a unique and innovative manner. As my time in VEX progressed, I not only gained practical engineering skills, but also developed skills in communication, documentation, and teamwork. VEX provided me a platform to meet and work with bright minds that inevitably inspired me to do better and gave me the confidence to reach for higher goals. My journey in VEX has carried me forward to the place I am now, giving me the foundations needed to advance in my career."

"I participated in VEX Robotics in high school as the captain of Team 1267C. My all-girl team and I won the Innovate, Create, Build, and Judges award at World Championships during our four years. Creating a strong engineering notebook was a large part of my VEX experience. While the notebook I made helped my team achieve greatness in competition robotics, the skills I gained through recording the engineering process have led me to find my true passion, product design. When creating a notebook, I learned the importance of critically detailed records, the circular flow of design refinement, and (most importantly) that 'projects are never really done, they’re just due.' As a third-year student at Rochester Institute of Technology studying Industrial Design my future will likely take me into many different product industries. While I may not end up in an engineering field-building robot, I’m sure the skills I have learned from both my wonderful robotics mentors and my experience with notebooks have made me well prepared for the future."

"My experience with VEX Robotics actually began in elementary school when my Dad took me to watch a competition at CSUN, where my future team was competing. I remember going up to the field and getting as close as I could to watch the robots, honestly mesmerized by them. This sparked a new interest in me, which led me to compete in the VEX Robotics Competition from 6th through 12th grade on Teams 83 and 1138. I grew especially fond of programming, which led me to finish 1st in the Starstruck Virtual World Online Challenge. Now, I have secured a software internship at Amazon this summer and am working towards a Computer Science degree at the University of San Diego."