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By Mac-Arthur Louis<\/strong>, adjunct professor, Robotics Coach VEX Team# 2538A, The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion\u2019s (ODEI) STEM Outreach Workshop Initiative (SOWI) provides a platform for underrepresented minority students to \u201cDiscover their Choices in STEM\u201d by using Robotics.<\/p>\n Coming off an award-winning 2020 SOWI Summer Camp, students from several middle and high schools throughout the Capital District learned the Python programming language. Post-participant surveys revealed the desire to initiate a Robotics program during the school year on Saturdays.<\/p>\n In Fall 2020, students began learning the basics of object-oriented programming. The Saturday workshops allowed participants to enhance their critical thinking, use problem-solving and collaborative skills to design, code, and debug Python programs leading up to an in-house tournament. They gained all the skills needed to compete in an international future engineer\u2019s competition and VEX Robotics competition in March 2021.<\/p>\n Students voted to name their team \u201cPro Coders,\u201d designed a team logo and signed up for the Pro division in the Northeast bracket. The Pro Coders competed with 27 other teams from several countries in the Line of Mars and the Battery Raid challenges.\u00a0 In the end, Pro Coders ranked 14th place.<\/p>\n Special thanks to the VEX coaches and parents\/legal guardians for their support. The team members are eager to return for an on-campus robotics competition and to continue learning advanced programming in other languages.<\/p>\n If you would like to donate to help expand SOWI to include more participants, visit Make a Gift | HVCC<\/a> and select ODEI STEM Outreach Fund<\/strong> in the “designation” box.<\/p>\n
\nand Taunya Hannibal-Williams<\/strong>, ODEI community outreach specialist<\/p>\n
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