All high schoolers at BT take one (or a few) of Mrs. Rise’s many classes, whether that be an algebra, calculus, or engineering course. Outside of her classes, Mrs. Rise is the House Dean of Abbott House. She also created and coaches BT’s VEX robotics team, a cornerstone of the high school experience.

Although BT’s robotics program now consistently performs well internationally, it hasn’t always been a dominant force among robotics programs. Mrs. Rise explained in an interview that she hadn’t anticipated the success of BT’s robotics program: “I didn’t expect the program to grow, but I have a desire to always do better than we did the last time and I’ve been fortunate to have students that shared that passion.” One of these students was her son, Connor, whom she cited as an inspiration for bringing VEX robotics to BT. She knew someone needed to coach the robotics program, and she was ready to take on the challenge. 

VEX robotics is an international organization which facilitates robotics tournaments. Currently, thousands of teams participate in VEX robotics tournaments annually. Each year, VEX robotics releases a new challenge (game), and teams must create a robot which can complete the challenge and score the maximum points possible. The tournament environment fosters collaboration, competition, creativity, and teamwork. 

In the early phases, the BT robotics program faced numerous challenges. Initially, there were difficulties securing funding for the expensive equipment required for creating robotics. Along the way, BT’s former Headmaster Mrs. Desler continuously supported Mrs. Rise’s funding requests. 

There was also the problem of finding a practice space. While BT students now enjoy a large robotics lab, BT’s robotics program practiced for years in either Mrs. Rise’s classroom or the locker room for visiting football teams (notoriously called “The Dungeon” BT students). Mrs. Rise highlighted how over the years BT’s robotics program has “had a combination of growth in the program and the opportunity to utilize additional space.” Additionally, they used to only compete twice a year. 

Thanks to Mrs. Rise’s pioneering efforts, students have benefited immensely. Of course, the robotics program provides opportunities to improve critical thinking, learn programming and engineering practices, and enhance problem-solving. However, Mrs. Rise explains that the primary benefit of robotics is “ learning how to be part of a team, and learning how to be selfless.” The opportunity to travel to national and international competitions has provided yet another opportunity for growth among students, enabling them to broaden their cultural horizons and meet like-minded competitors. 

As for the future, there is much in store for the BT robotics program. Mrs. Rise wants students at BT to continue to pursue robotics in a competitive nature. Additionally, she mentioned that BT values the learning experience students gain from robotics and says, “I hope to see the coaches in the future care as much about the learning that happens as I do.” We cannot wait to see what the BT robotics program will accomplish in the future.