SALEMBURG — In the parking lot of Lakewood High School, Upward Bound students watched small self-driving robots roll on the pavement.
Under the guidance of Betabox and its founder Sean Newman Maroni, the students wanted to race. But at the starting line, the cars curved in different directions and Maroni questioned why for a teaching lesson.
“It’s more voltage going in because there’s two batteries,” Maroni said. “It’s like double the power on the right and that’s why it’s going in a circle.”
To go straight, another battery was added to balance the power. That moment was just one of several lessons during the visit by Betabox, a technology-based organization providing hands-on learning activities. The work took place inside mobile tech lab. A’Naya Stancil, a senior at Lakewood High School, was one of several students who worked to make adjustments for her car.
“It was a neat experience,” Stancil said. “I learned about the circuits and how you can use batteries to make the wheels turn. It was really cool.”
Marlow Artis, Upward Bound director for Sampson County Schools, said it was wonderful to start a partnership with Betabox. The visit for the program’s Saturday academy was a first for Sampson County Schools. The Upward Bound program helps first-generation students with higher education goals.
“We are glad to have it here in Sampson County and glad that students have been able to engage in computer programming, analytics, robotics, computer science and engineering,” Artis said about using software used by real engineers. “They learn all these different things so that what they’re learning in the classroom, now we’re able to see in application.”
Betabox offers a variety of grant and scholarship opportunities for schools that in the Title I federal program based on high percentages of children from low-income families.
“We want to go to as many schools as possible, ideally places where they wouldn’t see these technologies on a daily basis,” Maroni said.
To give more students a chance to experience Betabox, Artis is encouraging local businesses to become a sponsor by reaching out to the organization. Programs are also available for elementary and middle school students.
“It was a great experience for Upward Bound students and we would love for other students in Sampson County to get this experience and companies can help us to do that by sponsoring,” Artis said.
Maroni, CEO of Betabox, led the students with the assistance of Betabox Field Guides Jeremy Springle and Becky Holmes.
“The students who worked with us went from zero to sixty on how to actually bring a car to life,” Maroni said. They learned a little bit about what self-driving car technology is and how it;s made.”
Students worked with a laser cutter machine, a 3-D printer and learned about the computer science element as well. Itseli Herrera-Torres, a junior at Lakewood High School, enjoyed working with Betabox and the technology provided.
“I think it’s cool how you can take a design from the computer and make it a reality in just an hour or so,” Herrera-Torres said.
In addition to technology, focus was also placed on entrepreneurship and networking.
“That’s what resonated throughout the day,” Maroni said. “We just used the self-driving car experience and all the little failures that happened along the way to let people know that it’s not always going to be easy and you may have to struggle. Things may be harder for you are someone else and your bot may not work as good as the person’s next to you. But you got to keep on pushing through and solving the problems.”
Through Betabox, it’s a message he likes to covey when he works with youths.
“It’s showcasing that grit is important and determination is going to payoff,” he said. “Even with engineering skills, it’s not just about IQ. It’s also about not giving up and determination.”
Holmes talked about becoming a business owner and owning Ello Raw, which specializes in healthy snack bites, which are sold across the country. She spoke about starting in college and growing up in a low-income family that didn’t eat a lot of healthy food.
“I started to realize how that impacted the way that they felt, along with their physical and mental health,” Holmes said. “I wanted to put out a product that was good for you and also tasted good.”
She spoke about starting small and becoming successful, while encouraging students to persevere.
“Work hard and don’t let anyone tell you no,” Holmes said.
It’s a message that was emphasized throughout the day for students such as Aniya Howard, a senior at Lakewood High School. She had a few kinks with her car, but was determined to be successful after adjusting more wires.
“I had to keep working and I was not going to give up,” Howard said. “I really wanted to see it move.”
