Alumni Corner
The BEST program gives participants incredible opportunities and teaches students skills they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Over the past eight competition years, we have had a total of seventy-three students on the team, thirty-five of which have graduated from high school. Thirty-three of the graduated students have attended college, sixteen having already graduated. Seven have become military officers and fifteen have pursued STEM careers.
Meet five of our presidents and several other prior team members who have graduated. See where they are now and hear from them about their experiences in the program.
Meet five of our presidents and several other prior team members who have graduated. See where they are now and hear from them about their experiences in the program.
President's Corner
Ben Bethel
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President, Bethelbots, Inc., 2005: Mission to Hubble
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University, 2011 Employment: Maintenance Specialist, KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia Family: Married, two sons |
“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.”
Nathan Marion
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President, Patriotbots, Inc., 2006: Laundry Quandary
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Military Institute, 2013 Employment: Production Coordinator at UGN, Inc., Captain U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Infantry Officer Family: Married, twin daughters |
“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.”
Samuel Sumner
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President, Patriotbots, Inc., 2007: 2021: A Robot Odyssey
Education: B.S. Math/Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery, 2013. Employment: Captain U.S. Air Force, Pilot, E-8 JSTARS Family: Married, three children |
“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.”
Timothy Marion
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President, Patriotbots, Inc. 2009: High Octane
Education: B.A. French, Auburn University, 2014 Employment: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps, Crisis Action Planner, Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa Family: Single |
"I have now been in the United States Marine Corps for four and a half years and could not have imagined a more challenging and rewarding job. Over the past several years, I have had the incredible opportunity to lead Marines, ranging from a platoon size of forty to a company size of over one hundred and fifty Marines. Without a doubt, the same types of challenges I faced as the president of BEST are faced as a leader of Marines, and the same leadership lessons apply. For example, leading subordinates while creating a professional, innovative, and enjoyable atmosphere is crucial in my line of work. When equipment breaks, quick induction into a maintenance cycle while finding an alternative means of accomplishing the mission also reminds me of moments in BEST where we realized a particular design was no longer plausible, but we found a solution anyway. Finally, 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.”
Joanna Sumner
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President, GEARS, Inc. 2014: Blade Runner
CEO, 2015: Pay Dirt Management Advisor, 2016 Bet the Farm Education: Sophomore, Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery Employment: Undergraduate Research Assistant in Mathematics, Auburn University Montgomery Family: Single |
"Out of all my school experience, I can think of no other program that could have given me the breadth and depth of experience that BEST Robotics did. Through the program, I was able to gain skills in leadership, project management, engineering, technical writing, public speaking, marketing, and website design. The competition was challenging, but I enjoyed every bit of it. My favorite part of the experience was getting to work alongside other students, who pulled together to solve problems and produce excellent work. As I pursue a degree in Computer Science and participate and lead in school clubs and activities, I continue to use and improve the skills that BEST taught me. BEST Robotics has had a lasting impact on me, and I am forever grateful to have been a part of it."
Other Past Members
Michael Joki
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Vice President, Patriotbots, Inc., 2005: Mission to Hubble, 2006: Laundry Quandary, 2007: 2021: A Robot Odyssey
Education: A.S. General Studies (Marion Military Institute, 2011), B.S. Finance (Louisiana State University, 2014) Employment: Capital One Financial (High Line Underwriting Associate), 1 Lt US Army Reserve, Finance Manager Family: Married |
"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. I learned that you can make a lot of really cool things happen, if you are just willing to pick up the phone and ask. One school even let us present in front of their entire upper school! BEST gave me an opportunity to participate in the engineering process, while also gaining public speaking and public relations experience. How cool is that?"
Andrew Sumner
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Technician, 2005: Mission to Hubble
Chief Technician, 2006: Laundry Quandary & 2007: 2021: A Robot Odyssey VP of Engineering, 2009: High Octane Education: Supply Chain Management, Auburn University, 2016 Employment: 1st Lt, United States Marine Corps, Logistics Officer Family: Married |
"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."
Rebecca Sedlak
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Research and Marketing, 2009: High Octane
Education: B.S. Aerospace Engineering, The University of Alabama, 2017 Employment: Systems Engineer, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Family: Single |
“BEST was my first introduction to engineering. I did not even really know what engineering was before then. I loved getting to see all parts of the process and learn from the older team members since it was all completely new to me. As a freshman in college, largely because of my experience with BEST, I joined Alabama Astrobotics, a student design team competing in NASA’s annual Robotic Mining Competition. Each year we designed and built, from the ground up, a fully autonomous rover capable of mining in a Martian environment. 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, especially during my first year. In addition to working on the mechanical team, as a sophomore I became the Outreach Lead, coordinating our 40-person team with various local schools and organizations that we tutored for and presented to on a weekly basis throughout the school year. I absolutely believe this was a role I naturally filled so quickly because of my practice with presentation and marketing in BEST. We placed second in the RMC my freshman year, and won the other two years I was involved. Now I work in missile defense system radar testing and analysis and I’m still reminded of the skills I learned through robotics. It was a truly awesome way to learn to how to work with a team to produce quality technical work, confidently share it with others, and have a blast while doing it.”
Stewart King
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Technician, 2005: Mission to Hubble
Education: M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 2015 B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 2014. Employment: Systems Engineer, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Family: Single |
“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 from rocket-launched, egg-protection payloads for the UAH Space Hardware Club, to an innovative, drone-carrying, airship for senior design class, to a cave-exploring ROV (mini-submarine), and most recently to my work as a Systems Engineer on board the Sea Based XBR (X-Band Radar). 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.”
Carrie White
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Chief of Publications, 2009: High Octane
Education: Pharm.D from Samford University Employment: Pharmacist at Walgreens Family: Married with 2 daughters |
"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."
Michael Knotts
Technician, 2005: Mission to Hubble, 2006: Laundry Quandary, 2007: 2021 - A Robot Odyssey, 2009: High Octane
Education: Working on M.S. Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University
Family: Single
Education: Working on M.S. Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University
Family: Single
"BEST is a great opportunity for anyone interested in science, engineering, or just trying something unique. It is an amazing way of teaching the possibilities of STEM fields, and shows how much fun can be had with them!"
Sarah Sumner
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Marketing and Creative Design, 2006 Laundry Quandry
Chief of Creative Design, 2007: 2021 - A Robot Odyssey Vice President of Marketing, 2009: High Octane Education: B.S. Accounting, Auburn University Montgomery, 2018 Employment: Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood Family: Single |
"I learned a lot from participating in the BEST competition. While I don't remember ever even touching the robot (...ever...), I participated through speaking in the marketing presentation, writing portions of the engineering notebook, designing a t-shirt, building the marketing display, and creating giveaways to help market our company.
I knew that I wasn't interested in the Engineering side, but the BEST side sparked my interest. I enjoyed learning about how to run a business and I believe that is one of the reasons why I ended up in business school. The main thing that I learned was working together as a team. This competition is not just for those interested in building a robot; everyone can participate and bring their particular skills to help the team succeed."
I knew that I wasn't interested in the Engineering side, but the BEST side sparked my interest. I enjoyed learning about how to run a business and I believe that is one of the reasons why I ended up in business school. The main thing that I learned was working together as a team. This competition is not just for those interested in building a robot; everyone can participate and bring their particular skills to help the team succeed."
Trey Fowler
Chief Technician, 2014: Blade Runner, 2016: Bet the Farm
Education: Student, Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery
Family: Single
Education: Student, Computer Science, Auburn University Montgomery
Family: Single
"I had a lot of fun with GEARS. Meeting the people, working with the people, working to build a functioning machine, and seeing how complex a robotics team can be was an amazing experience. It was especially fun to be a returning team member and seeing who the new team members were and how they fit into the team. GEARS also introduced me to engineering and the engineering process. As a science nut, I enjoy working through the process of creating a new project and to see the project not only come to life but be able to complete objectives was very special. I got a lot out of GEARS. Good friends, good memories, and life skills like communicating between teammates and learning how to use machinery. It was a unique experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. My major in computer science was fueled by the CAD work many of my teammates did in GEARS. CAD is computer aided design and is used primarily in publications and presentations. Seeing other teammates explore possibilities in CAD programs inspired me to learn how to work 3-D modeling programs. Now I am designing 3-D models and working with python code to hopefully one day work in video game design."
James Byron Johnson II
Technician, 2007: 2021 Robot Odyssey
Education: Computer Science Undergraduate Student, Georgia Institute of Technology
Family: Single
Education: Computer Science Undergraduate Student, Georgia Institute of Technology
Family: Single
"Competing in BEST robotics as a middle schooler was one of the most fun and also the most challenging things I'd done up until that point in my life. Looking back, it was the first opportunity that required me to think critically and not just ask for an answer. Now as I am studying for my degree in Computer Science, I'm solving problems with dedication and creativity that I might not have otherwise with less developed critical thinking skills."
Updated 10/14/18 by ENL
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Copyright 2018 GEARS, Inc.
Eastwood/Cornerstone Schools |