Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Representatives from Arclin in Andalusia were on hand to present a check for $1,000 to the Straughn High School Robotics Team on Wednesday, April 10.

Headquartered in Atlanta as a chemistry and applications company, Andalusia is one of 12 Arclin locations in the United States and Canada.

“It’s good to receive support from our community. We get a lot of school support as well as parents and many great businesses around Andalusia. Seeing that support allows the students to see that their community wants to help them excel in the Robotics program here at Straughn High School,” Robotics Team Sponsor Stephen Bowen said.

Vice President of Engineering Mark Glisson said Arclin employs those from the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

“We are a broad spectrum of STEM-related disciplines with a high level of interest in supporting initiatives and programs meant to help educate our youth about those fields. The Straughn Robotics Team fits that description and perfectly aligns with what we do when we contribute to students’ knowledge and abilities. It is very important to Arclin to have the opportunity of giving back to its community,” Glisson said.

As a Straughn High School alumnus, Glisson was proud of Bowen and his team’s work.

“As someone who works in a field that employs many STEM-related disciplines, it’s encouraging to see work in those areas happening at the high school and middle school levels. Many of these students will go on to work in these fields, and it would be exciting to see some come back to Arclin. What these students are doing here prepares them for a future where they can be engaged in disciplines of those fields and help bring about a better standard of living,” he said.

Arclin Process Engineer Oscar Ferut said that programs like robotics teams are very important to the industry.

“We support doing this at the youth level because it helps give these kids experience. The exposure helps them understand what they want to do in the future and allows them to pick majors that can lead them into our industry while promoting and improving our industry as a while. These types of industries are moving heavily toward more automation, and having kids get excited about it at a young age can improve and enhance the industries going forward,” Ferut said.

Ferut attended a school that offered several extracurricular activities.

“Andalusia is located in such a small area, and sometimes, it’s hard to get funds outside of your basic extracurricular activities. Being able to help keep those options open for the kids is definitely something all of us at the plant support. We want to see the kids succeed in different ways and not just go to school for their A’s and B’s. With us giving back, it helps give them opportunities to participate in robotics competitions,” he said.

The SHS Robotics Team attended two regional competitions during the spring semester in Tallahassee, Florida, and Huntsville.

“We were able to really learn a lot from some experienced teams. It is by far one of the best educational experiences I have been part of. One of our goals this season was to help other teams out and provide assistance to them. I was proud of our seniors and the way they didn’t stop working on the robot. They did everything they could to keep it moving while we were competing. We did not finish as high as we wanted, but I was proud of our overall progress in the competition,” he said.

The team has completed its season for this school year and is now accepting donations for 2024-2025.

“I see the growth we have made year after year. We will continue to improve with the support we receive from our school system and the community. I want us to be a powerhouse team in this arena. We are always in need of funding to help with trips and other essentials that will allow us to keep our team going strong,” Bowen said.

For more information on the Straughn High School Robotics Team email stephen.bowen@cov.k12.al.us or call the school office at 334-222-2511.

Arclin is located at 14139 U.S. Highway 84 in Andalusia. For more information visit arclin.com or call 334-222-7581.