Millersville freshman credits peer-led Robotics Works program for hands-on learning

Haqmarison Tran, a freshman at Millersville University, said the campus Robotics Works program gave him opportunities to teach high school students and gain hands-on programming experience that shaped his interest in robotics.

"The robotics works program allows students here at Millersville to teach other high school students," Tran said. "So it's kind of different than working with teachers or professors. You can learn in their perspective." He said his favorite part of the work has been "being able to work with the robots and being able to program them to do a task that I wanted to."

Tran said he first became interested in robotics after taking a class in high school and doing some work with professors. He identified his high school as McCaskie High School and said Dr. John Hockery introduced him to Millersville's robotics club. "Doctor John Hockery was the one that actually introduced me to the robotics club," Tran said, adding that club members and faculty helped him "come out of my shell a little bit more and talk to them and build new things."

Tran also described challenges as a first-generation college student. "As a first generation student, I didn't know that I was actually gonna be able to, like, get into a college, and I didn't know if I was gonna be able to actually pay for it. But I worked really hard and got scholarships," he said.

On his plans after graduation, Tran said he intends to enter the robotics industry. "I don't know specifically, but I want to go straight into the robotics industry," he said.

The interview highlights a student-perspective example of a peer-teaching model in a campus STEM program and the role that faculty and scholarships can play in supporting first-generation students pursuing technical fields.