The mentor motto of the Jesubots is: "Teach them, lead them, let them."
This past July, Computer Science and Engineering Department Chair, Andy Wilcox presented at the NSTA (National Science Teaching Association) STEM Expo in San Francisco, California. The topic of his presentation was “How to Create and Maintain a Successful Robotics Program.” During his presentation he gave a synopsis of how Rockhurst began and continues to develop its robotics program.
He included in his talk about the initial meetings in the 2013-2014 school on the creation of a robotics team and how the interest in competitive robotics led to the creation of three robotics classes. He also cited examples of real world problem solving as the Robotics Engineering 2 students rewired a fishing boat and designed and built an ROV for their unit on electronics.
On the left, Robotics 2 students re-wiring a fishing boat. On the right is an image of the ROV designed and built by Rockhurst student.
In addition to presenting at the Expo, he attended many seminars on how to create/cultivate community partnerships to provide intern/externships for the students. Strong mentors who buy into the Jesubots culture are a key ingredient for the success of the students, as mentioned in the STEAM student bio of Andrew Meyer ‘19. The mentor motto of the Jesubots is: “Teach them, lead them, let them.”
The slide deck used for the conference can be seen below.
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