Sumter's Next Generation, presented by CCTC: Teamwork, confidence launch Hillcrest Middle School students to victory in statewide rover challenge

For eighth-graders at Hillcrest Middle School, the universe isn't just something to gaze at - it's something to conquer.

Competing as the Orbit Pioneers, a team of 11 students - Aaron Robinson, Bryce Jumper, Edward Hubbard, Nasir Livingston, Matthew Huggins, Caitlyn Jackson, Edwin Mejia Meza, Lily Kiggins, Micah Quick, Elian Toney and Andrew Anderson - earned top honors at the Operation Space Talk Rover Day. The program, part of a nationwide initiative, saw Hillcrest Middle as one of four middle schools in South Carolina selected to participate out of an initial pool of 9,600.

The competition required students to design and build a rover capable of completing five complex, timed challenges. Tasks included navigating through a simulated meteor impact zone, crossing a bridge without losing the drone mounted on the rover, solving a puzzle from the Air Force, constructing a functional item and delivering and decoding a message using a drone. Hillcrest not only completed all the challenges, but did so with the fastest time of any school, earning first place.

"It was very fun," Edward said about the experience. "We got to interact with a lot of new things."

The team's journey began months earlier, thanks to the collaborative effort led by Brenda Gardner, regional workforce advisor for the Santee-Lynches region, and several regional workforce advisors. The group submitted a proposal and was granted a spot in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, program. Through public and private entities, including NASA, the ARISS program engages young people in STEAM activities and introduces them to career pathways in engineering, communications, technology, robotics and countless other occupations.

Hillcrest was one of nine schools nationwide to be chosen. The eager eighth-graders were led by Hillcrest Science Department Head Robert Easley and Curriculum Coach Misty Roberson.

After turning one man's trash into the team's rover in October for a friendly schoolwide competition, Orbit Pioneers qualified for the statewide competition and met with Fred Wilson, former NASA employee and current STEM consultant, to learn how to build a rover fit to compete and conquer.

Each student contributed to the team's success, with Aaron, Bryce, Edward and Nasir emerging as key leaders. Edward, one of the coders on the team, explained the team's design decision was to make the landing pad strong enough to carry the weight but light enough not to drag the rover down. Bryce's innovative thinking led to pool noodles being their secret weapon to secure both the drone and the win. Though the team faced their fair share of obstacles before and during the competition, by leaning on their preparation - fueled by their curiosity about skills and terminology that their competitors lacked - they were able to succeed.

On competition day this past Nov. 20 - and every day leading up to it - Easley couldn't have been prouder of his students' dedication, problem-solving abilities and, most importantly, their teamwork. Though trained and ready to help at any given moment, the Orbit Pioneers surprised and inspired their teacher with their ability to take charge of their creation.

"As a teacher, it's one of the coolest things you could ever experience," Easley expressed. "I was really excited that it didn't matter who they were, where they were as far as understanding things; they all worked together, and they all helped each other."

Easley's trust in their vision gave the group a newfound sense of confidence. "Accomplished" is how Nasir described the feeling. The good feeling, he said, of knowing he can do anything in life if he put his mind to it. The four leaders all agreed that opportunities appear endless for them now, different from how they envisioned their future before.

"Originally, I was thinking of doing some dead-end job," Edward said with a huff a laughter. "But really getting into coding and decoding … it has really started to open me up to being an electrician or possibly coding."

"I used to want to be a construction worker, but after I started designing [the rover], I found I want to be an architect," Bryce shared.

Easley beamed about the sixth- and seventh-graders being excited at the chance to build a rover of their own. While he's unsure if the opportunity will be to the scale of its inaugural year, the Orbit Pioneers have advice for that next generation.

"One thing I would say to do to improve, ask a lot of questions," Aaron encouraged. "That's the biggest thing that helped us. We were asking questions, figuring out what do we need to do, and everyone on our team was asking, 'Hey, can I help?', 'Can I do this?', 'Is there anything to do?' It helped us to work together as a team."