Middle School Robotics Coach Darius Bieganski ’13 wins Compass Award

Middle School Robotics Coach Darius Bieganski ’13 wins Compass Award
Middle School Robotics Coach Darius Bieganski ’13 wins Compass Award
Middle School Robotics Coach Darius Bieganski ’13 wins Compass Award

When Darius Bieganski ’13 got word in 2017 that Breck needed coaches for its newly established Middle School robotics team, he jumped at the chance to return to his old stomping grounds. 

“I was very deeply involved with the programming [as a student] and just had a lot of fun with it,” he remembers. He first joined the Upper School robotics team as a Breck sophomore, and, during his tenure, the team advanced to the World Championships twice. It was his own mentor, Gene Jasper, who asked him to return as a coach. Jasper, who established both the Upper School and Middle School robotics programs at Breck, didn’t have to ask Bieganski twice. 

“When I was a student here, he took a lot of time and energy to help us out,” says Bieganski, who works full-time as a software engineer at NBC Sports. “He’s the person who pulled me in [as a coach].”

Together with his fellow Middle School First Tech Challenge (FTC) coach Cody Wilkens, Bieganski now mentors Breck students just as Jasper did when he was a student. This winter, he was awarded the 2022–23 Compass Award at the FTC Minnesota Qualifying Tournament. This award, nominated by student team members, recognizes “an adult coach or mentor who has given outstanding guidance and support to a team throughout the year.” 

Bieganski has been dedicated to Breck robotics for nearly 15 years, but the formal recognition was unexpected. “I did not expect to get it,” he says. “It was a very pleasant surprise.” 

“Darius, in the most simplest way, has completely changed my life,” one student says in the award nomination video. “He has shown me not only what I can do with a skill set in computer science and mechanical engineering, but how to apply those skills and further my learning.” 

“He has a unique understanding of students and their challenges,” another student agrees. 

Bieganski particularly enjoys leading the Breck Middle School team. Nestled between the Lower School First Lego League and the Upper School Stampede Robotics team competing in the First Robotics Competition (FRC), the Middle School FTC team provides students a much-needed transition between “playing with Legos and real mechanical and electrical engineering,” says Bieganski. 
 
Before the Middle School program existed, students could be out of their element joining the Upper School team. “It’s real engineering, and you can really hurt yourself. If you don’t know what you're doing, you can cost yourself and others money, time, and energy. It isn’t playtime.” In Middle School robotics, students are introduced to the concepts, tools, and safety measures they will need to know in Upper School, but in a controlled, limited capacity. 
 
The FTC competitions are open to students in grades seven through 12, so Breck Middle School students are often up against peers with much more experience than them. However, Bieganski believes that helps build their confidence and prepares them for future robotics competitions—and beyond. 
 
“To compete with or against a 12th grader as a seventh grader is terrifying, but it’s also really empowering,” says Bieganski. “It’s like, ‘I’m actually here with these kids. I can hang with them. I can look at what I built and it’s actually similar to what they built.’” 
 
Helping students build that confidence is one of many reasons Bieganski has chosen to continue coaching robotics at Breck after so many years. “I do this program because it is such a great opportunity for kids to mature, to learn, and, in my opinion, to be prepared for the modern world.”
 
Please join the Breck community in congratulating Darius Bieganski ’13 on his 2022–23 Compass Award win!
 


 

 

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