Penguin Pride: DMV NSBE, Jr. Team wins 2020 DC VEX Robotics Championship

While some students in the District enjoyed a relaxing mid-winter break, several local high schoolers were hard at work which paid off in a BIG way!  The alliance teams of DMV NSBE, Jr’s RoboRaptors and the RoboDogs of St. Alban’s, won the 2020 DC VEX Championship Tournament held at Friendship Collegiate High School, Saturday, February 22nd.  Fourteen teams from District of Columbia high schools competed in the 2020 VEX Robotics Competition “Tower Takeover”, a game-based engineering challenge. These two teams will move on to the 2020 VEX Robotics World Championship, competing against 1,600 teams from around the world which takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, April 22-23.

Representing School Without Walls HS at the VEX Worlds Championship in Kentucky are our very own: Curtis Lawrence, III (2021) Kailes Collier (2021), Nedim Yusuf (2021), Corey Lawrence (2023), and DiMarco Johnkins (2022) – all members of Dynamic Mathematical Visionaries (DMV) NSBE, Jr., a Pre-College Initiative (PCI) youth chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

With coaching by School Without Walls substitute teacher Mr. Jacob Adams, the Robo Raptors Team captain, Curtis Lawrence, III helped lead his team’s alliance to victory with a score of 50-18!  

Congratulations to our Walls Penguins for a job well done!  Mr. Adams, Curtis, Kailes & the RoboRaptors encourage the entire Walls community to support their VEX Worlds Championship fundraising efforts by donating through the DMV NSBE, Jr Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/100006829479026/posts/2599747970262827/?d=n. 

VEX Robotics Tournaments task high school students with designing and building a robot to play against other teams. Students learn skills in teamwork, leadership, communication, and programming.  Tournaments are held year-round at the regional, state, and national levels  and culminate at the VEX Robotics World Championship each year in April!