Starting Monday, students from Center Grove’s Red Alert Robotics team will start mentoring children from first to third grade as part of a program called FLL, or First Lego League.
Sophomore Kaylee Holverson mentored for the program last year and will be returning this year as well.
“I really like working with kids, and I did FLL camp over the summer, so I decided that’s what I wanted to do for the actual team,” Holverson said.
The high school students will be helping kids build Lego structures and help them program moving parts as part of their challenge for this year.
“A lot of what we do is we guide kids with stuff to do,” Holverson saidfW. “We don’t tell them everything, but we’re there if they need help, and help [them] imagine things and build things.”
Mentoring can be a way for students like Holverson and junior Joshua Limbruner to work on their leadership skills and get to know the program better.
“I think it’s a good starting point for a lot of kids to learn the elements of STEAM from a young age,” Limbruner said. “I never did FLL, so I’m partially curious as to how that system works. I also don’t work with kids usually, so [it’s a growing experience].”
Along with the skills learned during the opportunity, students also get to have experiences with mentoring that they would not get in normal high school robotics.
“[My favorite part is] probably working with the kids and getting to see how excited they get when they work with Legos, working with each other for the final project and going to competitions,” Holverson said.
