When Samuel Steere ‘26 was a freshman, a peculiar object on the D-Level caught his attention. On display were parts used for an autonomous underwater vehicle, artifacts of Beaver’s robotics team that had been put on pause during the pandemic. “I was really curious about the frame of the sub,” Sam says. “[I] thought it could be a really cool project to be a part of.” Leading with this curiosity, Sam joined a group of students passionate about robotics–including current BeaverAUV leaders Milin Chhabra ‘26 and Andre Gordon ‘26–and restarted the team. That was only the beginning.
After years of hard work, BeaverAUV has grown into a robust program that empowers students to explore the world of robotics. Most recently, the team showcased their work in California at RoboSub 2025, an international competition where students design and test robotic submarines. Beaver stood out as one of only four high schools competing.
Throughout my time at RoboSub, I’ve learned a lot of ‘hard’ robotics skills like soldering, Python, and 3D printing, but one of the most important things I’ve learned is how important communication is in teams.
Andre Gordon ‘26
BeaverAUV spent all year preparing for the competition. “During the school year, we try to meet with the whole team every 2 weeks,” Milin mentions. “We also do meetings every week with the subteams.” In addition to these student-run meetings, the team also participated in a two week RoboSub intensive during the Beaver Accelerator and even met over summer break to continue their work.
The BeaverAUV team consists of four subteams focused on marketing, software, electrical, and hardware. This structure allows students to directly engage with the aspects of robotics that interest them most. “I’m the lead of the software team, which means I’ve written most of the sub’s software,” Andre says. Ava Restuccia ‘27 is a member of the business and marketing subteam, creating promotional materials for the group and organizing their community outreach. “My main jobs are to run all of our social media as well as the website,” Ava mentions. “We did a big rebrand this year and part of that involved designing all of our logos, colors, and fonts.”
I think RoboSub is a really cool place to meet new people and try new things. It’s a really good way to work on skills that you’re going to end up using for the rest of your life.
Ava Restuccia ‘27
After a year of preparations, the team arrived in California ready to get to work. The group spent their first few days at RoboSub 2025 preparing for the competition by repairing shipping damages, installing last minute hardware, repairing leaks, and testing code. “Our main goal was to qualify for semifinals, which requires us to get through a large gate in the pool,” Andre mentions. Qualifying for semifinals was not an easy task for the team; with limited access to pools throughout the year, students had to adapt and iterate their design on the ground in California. After a series of late nights in and around the pool, BeaverAUV achieved their goal of qualifying.
I think Robosub taught me a lot about teamwork. During the competition it can be really easy to try to do everything yourself but I learned a lot about splitting the work and getting everyone engaged. A lot of things would go wrong. . . but it becomes so much easier when we all work together.
Milin Chhabra ‘26
One of the most rewarding parts of the competition is the community it builds between students. Members of the team frequently mention the memories they made when reflecting upon the experience. “Some of the highlights from the trip this year were team dinners and late nights working on the sub to be ready to go in the morning,” Sam says. Students also built connections with other teams, exchanging advice and bonding over a shared love of robotics. “The RoboSub community is very uplifting and there were so many teams who were willing to help us and give us parts and advice,” Ava adds.
This sense of community extends beyond the BeaverAUV team and into Beaver’s alumni and parent community. The team frequently partners with Beaver’s network of RoboSub alumni and community members with a connection to engineering and robotics. “We are grateful to the partners who have provided advice, mentorship, and philanthropic support—which has funded equipment for the sub and helped to make the team’s trip to the RoboSub competition on the west coast possible,” says Erica DeRosa, Director of Philanthropy and Engagement.
Dilce Oliveira ’20 participated in RoboSub as a student and returned to mentor current team members after graduating from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Seth Isaacson ’17 was deeply involved in RoboSub during his Upper School years, later earning a BS in Mathematics and Computer Science at Harvey Mudd College before pursuing advanced studies in robotics. “I’m currently in the Robotics Department at the University of Michigan,” Seth shares. “One fun note is how many of the current PhD students are RoboSub alumni—we have representatives from many undergraduate teams here in the department!”
Participating in RoboSub was, without exaggerating, pretty life changing. . . After Robosub, I saw clearly a whole new future and interest in engineering.
Arielle Dede ‘18
Although BeaverAUV works year-round to prepare for RoboSub, the impact of being on the team goes far beyond the competition. BeaverAUV allows students to develop technical skills, find community based on a shared love of robots, and gain experience working on a project-based team. For many students, BeaverAUV represents just the beginning of a lifelong passion for robotics, collaboration, and innovation.