Robotics Team “Nova X” Competes on Global Stage at VEX World Championship

The Nova X roster features a talented group of local students: Cara Duwel (Durham, NH), Nora Kryder (Eliot, ME), Eben Parker (Kittery Point, ME), Teddy McNaughton (Kittery Point, ME), and Eli Gleason-Papoosha (Wolfeboro, NH). Under the guidance of coach Mike Parker, and supported by a strong contingent of traveling parents, the team’s trip to Missouri was the ultimate reward for a season defined by rigorous preparation, mechanical iteration, and exceptional tournament performances.

Over the course of the intense three-day event, Nova X faced tests across three distinct disciplines: the teamwork challenge, driver-controlled skills, and autonomous coding. The teamwork format uniquely challenged the students to collaborate on the fly, pairing them randomly with peer groups from across the United States as well as international competitors from the United Kingdom and Ecuador. Competing in real time required high-level adaptability, rapid strategizing, and cross-cultural communication under pressure. Meanwhile, the individual driving and pre-programmed autonomous segments allowed the students to showcase their precise coding and custom engineering designs.

Berwick Academy’s robotics curriculum is rooted in a student-led philosophy. Rather than following a predetermined blueprint, team members learn through active experimentation—designing, building, testing, and troubleshooting their machinery through firsthand trial and error. This hands-on process goes beyond teaching mechanical engineering and programming; it instills vital life skills like project management, collaborative resilience, and a growth mindset.

Nova X returned to campus with expanded technical horizons, lifelong memories, and a renewed drive to keep innovating. Their success on the world stage highlights the power of student-centered STEM learning and proves the immense value of meeting real-world engineering challenges head-on.