By Krystle J Bailey
Gathered around a table at a local coffee shop, the four members of EHT Police Athletic League’s SeaPerch team laugh as they tell stories of their teamwork and travels. The local middle school students recently competed in the International SeaPerch Challenge, where they took third place among 58 teams who all earned their ticket to the competition through regional qualifiers. The teams, from 29 U.S. states and seven countries, met at the University of Maryland in College Park on May 13, where they were invited to display their underwater ROV design on an international stage.
“SeaPerch is an underwater robotics program that aims to equip elementary, middle, and high school students with science and engineering knowledge in a collaborative and competitive environment,” wrote 6th grader Audrey Ren in an essay about the competition. “Students and coaches are provided with a basic ROV kit and are tasked with altering the ROV to fit the needs of a yearly challenge.”
This year’s challenge was ocean exploration. Challengers were tasked with the mission to build an underwater ROV that could move sea critters, transport water samples, map the seafloor, and activate a target flag.
“Working as a team is very important,” explains 13-year-old ROV challenge driver Dylan Brown. “If the tether gets tangled or doesn’t communicate well, it will mess up our whole run, so working together with the driver lets them know if there are any problems that that they don’t notice.”
Dylan is supported by his teammates, obstacle course driver Aravin Thirunahari as well as Patrick dos Santos and Audrey Ren, who both served as the tethers. Together, they are “The Enforcers.” Over the course of six weeks, the quartet of STEM students used 3D-printed parts, zip ties, metal wire, and CPVC pipe to build an underwater ROV that could maneuver the various obstacle courses they faced.
With the help of their coaches, Denise and Mike Massey, who introduced the challenge to EHT PAL a decade ago, The Enforcers took to the main stage and won third place, beating out teams from China, Brazil, and Egypt.
“It’s a small group, but they really enjoy it, and the coaches are really dedicated,” shares Audrey Ren’s mother, Jane Hu.
“We are really proud of them,” echoes Aravin’s mother, Anita.
Dylan Brown, Audrey Ren, Patrick dos Santos, and Aravin Thirunahari are four dedicated and intelligent local students destined for great success. Being invited to The SeaPerch Challenge is an incredibly high honor. Placing in the top three is representative of the hard work, talent, and commitment of these four local students. As Audrey prepares to move and Dylan looks forward to joining the high school team, The Enforcers are looking for interested middle school students to join their team.
Find out more about EHT PAL and next year’s SeaPerch challenge at ehtpal.org.
Krystle J Bailey is a multimedia journalist, author and poet. Connect with Krystle on Instagram @thedailybailey5
