Past Member's 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 sixty-seven students on the team, thirty of which have graduated from high school. Twenty-nine of the graduated students have attended college, fifteen having already graduated. Five have become military officers and nine have pursued STEM careers.
Meet four 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 four 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
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
President, Patriotbots, Inc., 2006: Laundry Quandary
Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Military Institute, 2013 Employment: Captain U.S. Marine Corps, 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
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, two 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
President, Patriotbots, Inc. 2009: High Octane
Education: B.A. French, Auburn University, 2014 Employment: 1st Lt. U.S. Marine Corps, Communications Officer, Radio Platoon Commander Family: Single |
“I have now been in the United States Marine Corps for three and a half years and could never have imagined a more challenging and rewarding job. I am a Radio Platoon Commander for a Communications Company, so I am constantly dealing with the same sorts of challenges I faced as the president of BEST. For example, leading subordinates while creating a professional, innovative, and enjoyable atmosphere is crucial in my line of work. When equipment breaks, I induct it into the maintenance cycle while finding an alternative means of accomplishing the mission- this, too, 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.”
Other Past Members
Michael Joki
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: Engaged |
"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
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: 2nd Lt, United States Marine Corps, Marine Aviation Student 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
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
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
Chief of Publications, 2009: High Octane
Education: Pharm.D from Samford University Job: Pharmacist at Walgreens Family: Married with 1 daughter, one daughter on the way |
"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."
Updated 11-11-17 by ENL