Beattie student selected for FIRST Robotics World Championships

A.W. Beattie Career Center will send Ben Marcouiller, one of its FIRST Robotics student leaders, to compete in April at the World Championships in Detroit for the opportunity to earn a full college scholarship.

FIRST Robotics is an international high school robotics competition, in which A.W. Beattie competes as Team 2051.

A.W. Beattie’s most recent competition was against 44 other teams at California University of Pennsylvania, where Marcouiller earned the Dean’s List Award, which is given to about 200 students worldwide out of more than 50,000 eligible participants.

“When I heard my name called, it was insane,” Marcouiller said. “I didn’t know how to feel. I kind of flashed out a little bit while I was running down these steps to accept the award. I was high-fiving everyone as I went down. It felt so good.”

A Hampton High School junior, Marcouiller was nominated by A.W. Beattie Engineering Design and Robotics Manufacturing instructor Mike Purucker, and FIRST Robotics adviser Cliff Bossong. He was also interviewed by a panel to be considered for the honor.

“Ben lives and breathes every aspect of FIRST Robotics, from its technical content to its spirit of gracious professionalism to its mission of STEM outreach,” Purucker and Bossong said in Ben’s nomination letter.

Marcouiller is also quick to give credit to those around him.

“I’m definitely not the only one who has been working this hard,” Marcouiller said. “There are other people who I really wish could be recognized how I am now, because they do just as much I do, and they definitely helped me get this award.”