By: Jennifer Maupin
Posted at 12:45 PM, Mar 21, 2024 and last updated 6:54 AM, Mar 22, 2024
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa. — A small but mighty robotics team from Kenwood Public School not only won the state championship for teamwork — they also earned third place in their division at the CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Championship.
In fifth and sixth grade, Ceegyn Sapp and Carlie Harlin built a functioning robot and programmed it to complete several different tasks.
Their hard work earned them third place in the Elementary Division and ninth place overall against 61 teams from around the world.
And they did it all in traditional Native American regalia. That's what Superintendent Jerod Phillips said is so impactful about the girls' success.
"This is what we are all about as Cherokee Citizens, rising to the challenge and overcome," Phillips said. "This is the type of work ethic we are teaching at Kenwood Public School."
Phillips said the tournament helped showcase the students' robotic skills and their personal skills.
"We are so very proud of these two," he said. "As a fifth and sixth grader they have displayed exceptional intelligence as well as interpersonal skills to communicate across language barriers to complete tasks at a high level! We can all learn a little bit from them."
The duo will compete in the World Robotics Event in Dallas, Texas, on April 30 through May 3.