Jared Gallagher, a senior at Bradford Area High School, loves working with his hands.
And on Thursday, he found himself in his element, seeing his love of engineering grow deeper.
Penn State University’s Sea, Air and Land Challenge, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) engineering program for high school students, took place at Bradford Area High School and featured students from several local districts.
“This is my first time doing it. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was fun to compete,” Gallagher said.
He said he loved seeing his robot perform and then succeed in the land competition, which simulated the delivery of supplies to people trapped in a city building after an earthquake. During the competition, his team’s robot put blocks into boxes.
The person at the controller could only view the scene from a screen and was not allowed to observe the robot’s movements directly. The team of three built the robot over a three-month period.
Gallagher said he found himself to be impressed by other students’ robots, some of which were not made from a kit. Schools involved in the event included Bradford, Otto-Eldred, Smethport, Kane, St. Marys, Northern Potter and Ellicottville, N.Y.
Bradford Area High School teacher Peter Eckstrom said that the event is “everything I had hoped for.” And it’s something he had been wanting to put on for several years.
This is the first time the challenge took place this far north in Pennsylvania, said Susan Zingaro, program coordinator with Penn State University. Looking back on the day’s activities, she said she saw students meeting the Sea, Air and Land Challenge.
Through the program, she said students are able to learn about careers, both civilian and military, in the U.S. Department of Defense.
For Dylan Overbeck, a sophomore at Smethport Area High School, he said he enjoyed getting feedback from other students on his team’s robot and giving feedback to others about robots. He took part in competitions involving air and land.
His favorite turned out to be the air competition. Outdoors, students had to fly a drone and figure out what was in a box –– in this case, it was a chess piece.
Overall, the Sea, Air and Land Challenge brought some challenges as the robots hit some snags, said Alex Coppella, a senior at Bradford High who timed the land challenge. For instance, the one robot had a tough time picking up the one block.
Meanwhile, the event also included a sea competition that simulated the searching of an ancient ship wreckage for artifacts that would be put into a museum.
Jacob Summers, a sophomore who attends school in Ellicottville, N.Y., said he witnessed no rivalry at the event. Everyone got along, and no one complained, he said.
He said he enjoyed chatting with other students and learning from them.
“Even if you mess up, it’s not a humongous competition,” Summers said.
And in the end, the object is just a robot, he said.
The day’s winners included sea champions from Otto-Eldred, Cormac Ramsey, Lauren Cousins, Mackenzie Wilcox, Michaela Dewyer, Darcie Schneider, Andrew Sheeler, Emmalee Sheeler, Raine Ramsey and Harley Ramsey; air champions, Smethport, Zachary Persing, Luke Saar, Blaine Groshek, Jacob Erickson and Andrew Gallup; and land champions, St. Marys, Timothy Rusciolelli, Kevin Kuhar, Isaac Caretti, Mario Chiappelli, Nicholas Wendel, Zeph Woelfel, Andrew Atwell, Efren Fonseca, Jackson Lindemuth, Nathan Caggiano and Michelle Bauer.
Bradford Area School District Superintendent Katy Pude called the Sea, Air and Land Challenge exciting. “It’s energetic to see them. It’s energetic for me,” she said.
The local Sea, Air and Land Challenge was made possible through the Bradford Area School District Foundation, according to Pude. And Artone of Jamestown, N.Y., played a big role, too, in supporting the event.
Artone representative Lori Eger indicated she was glad to see students receiving real-world engineering training.
“The kids need it. And manufacturing needs it,” she said.
Eckstrom said the event is being planned for next year, and he said he is hoping more schools can become involved.
