Over the past three years, the Eleanor Roosevelt High School VEX Robotics Team Area 53 Alien Raiders has experienced growth in size, knowledge and success. Led by head coach and parent, Mark Campbell, Area 53 has been the main focus for all 35 student members since his arrival. Campbell has also helped to lead all robots of the 2018-2019 team to either VEX state or national championships.
It took three years for Campbell to create a system that he believed could turn the program around. After being laid off from a previous job in August 2016, he accepted the position with little hesitation. However, he knew he had to do things differently.
Before Campbell became head coach, students were not charged a fee and the head coach was not allowed to turn students away. These rules were not conducive to the working environment that Campbell had in mind partly due to lack of required financial resources for the team and lack of a high-level focus and attention to detail.
What once was used as an after-school program for friends to hang out until their parents picked them up after work turned into a group of 22 students working diligently and competitively on their robots during the 2016-2017 seasons.
For more of this story see the February 21 News Review.
