ARLINGTON, Texas — At last month’s Roboboat competition in Sarasota, Florida, engineering students battled for nautical supremacy.
The field included 17 of the most prestigious college engineering programs in the world -- and one public North Texas high school.
“It’s kind of a whiplash feeling, realizing we are that good,” said senior Hudson Nguyen.
Before they were that good, the Arlington Martin S.E.A.L.S.-for science, engineering, autonomous, learning – were clueless.
“Some kids just saw this on a website and thought, ‘That sounds neat. We could do that,’” said James Hovey, the team’s faculty sponsor.
However, when it came to this kind of engineering, they were all in the same boat.
“There was a lot of doubt because this is my first time doing something like this,” said junior Christina Tran.
“I didn’t know how to make a boat,” Nguyen said. “I didn’t know all the intricacies of building a boat and all the Naval architecture behind that.”
“I was walking up to the course and was sick to my stomach because of how nervous I was,” said team captain Karmen Chandler.
They dove in anyway spending countless hours designing, engineering and building a boat that could complete a series of challenges on its own.
They tested it in local lakes and neighborhood swimming pools and by the time they got to Florida, they weren’t just ready to compete. They were ready to teach.
“So many times throughout the competition, we have these college teams come up to us and ask for help,” Chandler said.
They didn’t win the whole thing, but they did finish ahead of teams from Cornell, Georgia Tech, the U.S. Coast Guard and others, which was all they needed to turn the tide.
“It really made me see that I could be a good engineer,” Nguyen said.
“It’s night and day,” Hovey said. “They come back changed people.”
“It’s already boosted my confidence an insane amount,” Chandler said. “I do things I didn’t think I could do six months ago.”
Accomplishing your goals is never smooth sailing, but to these kids, learning to navigate uncharted waters can take you anywhere.
“If you want to do it bad enough, you can do anything,” Chandler said. “That’s what we did.”
And it’s what drives them to keep making waves.
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