Building More Than Robots: Wheaton High School

Inside a long third-floor hallway at Wheaton High School, a group of students are laser-focused on designing, programming and troubleshooting a sleek, mechanical figure. This is their robot, Kitt.

In this space, the Wheaton KnightRiders, part of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), students develop leadership, teamwork and problem-solving. For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) challenges high school teams to build and program a robot capable of completing physical tasks.

The team recently competed in two FIRST Chesapeake District events: one at Walt Whitman High School and another in Pasadena, Maryland.

At the Bethesda competition, the team placed second before the playoffs and finished 11th out of 29 teams. These competitions provide an opportunity to learn important skills.

“I think robotics has really taught me how to lead,” said Gili Reeves, a junior and head of programming for the team. “Not just by telling people what to do, but by working with them, guiding them and learning alongside them.” 

Building a robot comes with plenty of obstacles. Students have to troubleshoot problems and stay determined even when situations don’t go as planned.

“The biggest challenge we faced was that things kept breaking,” recalled Leander Issenburg, a junior and part of the mechanical team. “After we fixed one thing, another thing broke.”

Despite the setbacks, the team never lost its motivation. 

“We kept working on it, and we succeeded, and we placed well,” said Issenburg.

Mentorship has a role in improving team skills, explained Wheaton alum and mentor Daniel Johnson, now in his third year of working with the team.

“You see the light bulbs, you see the moments, you see the kids grow,” said Johnson. “They went from almost little kids to now, they're leading the team.”

Rich Scott, robotics team leader and engineering teacher at Wheaton, said it is the closest he’s seen students come to real-world engineering.

“The students were the ones who designed and built the robots,” Scott said. “If you look at the robots and you see all those wires, those wires were installed and routed by students.”

These students aren’t just building robots; they’re building their future, gaining the confidence to become the next generation of engineers and programmers.

“I think in the future, I can continue to use the skills I've learned in robotics—leadership skills and technical skills—to help the MCPS community,” Reeves said.

Click here to see the team in action.