More Than Robots: How VEX Is Shaping Students Across Cabarrus County Schools

From building machines to building confidence, CCS students say VEX Robotics has helped shape friendships, careers and futures in STEM fields — even as the program faces possible funding cuts.

Kat Darby and William Swayze work on a robot with Cabarrus Early College of Technology VEX Coach Elizabeth Thompson looking on. Photo courtesy of Kristel Swayze.

For many students across Cabarrus County Schools, VEX Robotics has become more than an extracurricular activity.

What starts with building and programming robots often grows into something much larger — confidence in the classroom, stronger communication skills and, for some students, a pathway toward future careers in engineering, technology and other STEM-related fields.