BEA Robotic Club members Aimee Liegl, Michael Vaske, Devin Haase, Jacob Murray Jack Lester and Christopher Murray are pictured left to right. Noah Hanson and Olivia Harpestad were missing from the photo.

Ask a member of the Blue Earth Area Robotics Club why they became involved with the group and one of the most common answers will be that being a part of the robotics club relates in some way to what they want to do once they graduate from high school.

“Being a member ties into my future plans of wanting to get a degree in mechanical engineering,” robotics club member Jack Lester says. “Plus, it is just a nice way to learn.”

For Devin Haase, who has been a member of the club for five years, it was the chance to try something new.

“I became very interested in the programming aspect that is involved with robotics,” Haase comments. “It also relates to my future plan of entering the field of cyber security.”

Another five-year member, Michael Vaske shares he just enjoys working with his fellow members and hanging out.

“It is fun to be a part of a team,” Vaske remarks. “We live in a small town so we are close to each other.”

The robotics club is in its 15th year of existence at BEA and Laura Becker has been an advisor for the club for 14 of those years.

“My husband, Shane, and Travis Armstrong were the advisors the first year,” Becker says. “Shane and I have been the advisors since the second year.”

The BEA robotics club has already competed in four meets this school year.

“Our first three competitions were all in 2025,” Becker states. “They were hosted by Southland High School on Nov. 15, by Mankato West on Dec. 19 and United South Central on Dec. 31. Then we competed in Albert Lea on Feb. 14 of this year.”

“Those were VEX competitions,” Becker comments. “VEX is a leader in educational robotics for grades pre-K through high school and college. It focuses on hands-on STEM learning and teaches students to design, build and program robots to solve challenges.”

One website summed it up this way – VEX provides a comprehensive, scalable system that brings engineering and technology to life for students.

While the robotics team is done with VEX competitions for the school year, they are busy preparing for one more robotics tournament, and it’s a big one.

“FIRST Inspires is a tournament that runs from March 25-28,” Becker says. “It will be held at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.”

One key difference between VEX and FIRST is that the robots used in FIRST are generally larger than the ones used in VEX.

“Another difference is the cost of competing,” Becker adds. “Competing in Vex is covered by the school district since it is relatively inexpensive. The cost to compete in the FIRST Inspires Tournament is $6,000 and we have to find sponsors to cover that cost.”

Fortunately for BEA, Becker’s regional advisor connected her with a major sponsor, Target, who is contributing $5,000 towards the total cost.

“The remaining $1,000 we needed came from local sponsors,” Becker shares. “There will be teams there from all over the United States.”

Becker also explains that the VEX games for the next year will also be released before the end of the school year.

“Since our club is for students in grades 8-12, we get new members each fall,” Becker says. “So we do not start working on next year’s robot until the upcoming school year.”

While the students have their reasons for joining robotics, Becker notes her husband had to talk her into being an advisor.

“I enjoy it because it is something totally different than what I do during the school day,” she comments. “It also gives me a chance to interact with other students. I never would have guessed I would be getting involved with robotics.”

Becker says BEA’s robotic’s team normally has around 10 members but only has eight this school year.

“We are smaller than a lot of other schools,” she shares. “But we offer the two different programs, VEX and First Inspire.”

Aimee Liegl is in her first year as a robotics team member and is one of the two female members of the club.

“I thought it sounded like fun,” Liegl remarks. “Plus, I just wanted to try something new – a different activity than what I normally do.”

Third-year member Jacob Murray says learning to follow all the rules is a challenge.

“They (the rules) change from year to year,” Murray notes. “Part of the appeal of being in the club is the opportunity to be around others who have the same interest. Another reason I was interested in robotics is because I want to be an agricultural engineer some day.”

Becker says students learn many things as members of the robotics club including learning to adapt and fix mistakes, cooperation – learning to help each other even if it is your opponent and finally, networking.

“The goal is that students learn from what they are doing,” Becker concludes. “Many times the students don’t even realize they are learning. It is a great way for them to expand their skills.”