This past summer, Beloit College, in partnership with CareerTek, hosted hands-on workshops for students in grades 6-12. Learning opportunities like these benefit ‘unofficial’ Buccaneers through skill-building workshops and connections with new people. Beloit College’s programs are built-in collaborations with current community initiatives that prove no one is ever too young, nor too old, to find a new learning opportunity.
Beloit College is known for innovative liberal arts programs that meet the needs of the moment. But, Beloit’s uniquely personalized, student-centered approach isn’t limited to undergraduate degree programs.
As part of Hendricks CareerTek’s 2025 Summer Academies program and in partnership with Bluestem Robotics, a local nonprofit that operates STEM-oriented youth development programs, Beloit College hosted “Intro to Robotics,” one of two workshop collaborations. Shelbi Wilkin, former assistant professor of costume design, also offered insights into the creation and construction of clothing through “Fabric & Flair.”
Hosted in the new Impact Beloit Hub in the college’s Col. Robert H. Morse Library, “Intro to Robotics” was a true community intersection for which Impact Beloit strives.
Ted Wilder, chief information officer & library director, has worked with FIRSTⓇ Tech Challenge team Turtle TEK since its rookie year, but this workshop was their first on Beloit’s campus. Wilder and his team of youth leaders guided participants through the essentials of building and programming, emphasizing problem-solving in a creative, fun environment. Bluestem Robotics, a nonprofit that supports educational robotics teams like Turtle TEK, received a grant from the Colonel Robert H. Morse Foundation to purchase the robots.
While this past summer was the first year for the Beloit College Academy collaboration, Wilder’s three years with this award-winning team has demonstrated the value of these workshops to teach hands-on skills, but often more importantly, persistence.
“Winning awards is fun, but I care about the growth. Many students never worked with hand tools before. It’s righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Then, they advance to manufacturing and design work. The CareerTek workshop was a microcosm of that,” Wilder shared.
In just one morning, youth participants assembled a fully-functional robot, and learned to program its movement, sensors, and a motorized tool. They applied what they learned to a challenge involving programming the robot to navigate a course to accomplish a task with only pre-programmed movement and sensor input. It wasn’t the first presentation for Turtle TEK, and Wilder celebrates how his team continues to build team building skills and adapt how they talk to people.
“Participants practiced collaboration, perseverance, problem solving, and agility to achieve success with robots, programming tools, and team members they had never worked with prior to the class.” Smiling, Wilder says, “It never works the way you want it to the first time.”
Young or old, trying something new is easier when you can find help along the way. Whether you’re just getting started on a career path or pursuing your latest passion project, community members are invited to try explore interests through resources provided year round.
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July 23, 2025
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Intro to Robotics workshop youth participants and leaders
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