Jaw-Dropping Number of Cranberry Students Qualify for VEX Worlds

As said by Jadyn Shumaker, member of team Titanium Titans, “Our team really didn’t expect to perform this well because we placed 24th in our last competition… We weren’t expecting much, but I’m really happy! We’ve put so much time, effort, and many headaches into the robot, and it’s a relief knowing that we are going somewhere other than Pennsylvania.”

Since early November, students in Mr. O’Brien’s Intro to Engineering and Technology class have been tackling the robotics unit. Competitions for VEX IQ typically begin during late January, and as a result of the low number of teams present in western Pennsylvania, students who performed well in previous competitions could skip Regionals and move straight into VEX IQ States.

While in Dallas, these Cranberry students will be competing for a period of three days against people from all around the world. The competition will surely be stiff, but many team members have expressed their optimism while also going on to describe the changes they plan to implement, such as the addition of hanging mechanisms and improved autonomous programming. 

“Our goal for beginning this entire program at Cranberry was to provide students with a learning opportunity that would teach students skills that they would need out in the workplace, and I really feel like we definitely reached that mark and actually exceeded our own expectations. So, the plan for the future is to continue to improve and just make the program more efficient and better for the students that are coming through,” O’Brien stated.

The qualifying teams also extended a special thank you to both Mr. O’Brien and Mr. Bedee for dedicating countless hours after school for VEX IQ, which certainly played a role in this massive success.