Towards the 2nd half of the year, Amir's Technology teacher stopped by and informed me how well he was doing in their coding class. I asked Amir if he was interested in building and programming a robot with me and at first he was hesitant because he didn't believe he could do it. I brought a robot building kit and we started building and as it progressed his confidence really grew and by the end of it, he stated that he could do anything, even going past the directions and started programming additional "features" he thought was necessary. I am so proud of him and how smart he is, he just needed a little help realizing his potential. The biggest suggestion I have is getting more people and businesses aware of this program and getting others to understand the value this program has for the student!

The most important thing I got out of this program is how much a little bit of time could really impact a student and myself in a positive way. I am so glad that I started this program. I loved getting to see Amir get excited when I came into his class room and seeing him wanting to learn as much as he could about our robot. It is amazing how much a young child can learn when they are excited and interested in something. He was so proud and wanted to show everyone who walked by his progress and in the beginning of our journey he was really shy. His end goal was to get his robot fully functioning and driving it into the principal office to show her. I am sad we weren't able to do this. At our last elevator time, I was planning on giving him the robot to take home so he could continue to work and tinker with it over the summer, so I would love to find a way I could send it to him.

-Nick Burdette