Engineering Club Sparks Creativity and Innovation at Beachwood High School
In the summer of 2023, three high school students set out to build a robot capable of solving a Rubik’s Cube. Inspired by a YouTube video, Alex Rabochii, Dotan Dana, and Shamith Murthy envisioned a machine that could scan the cube’s configuration, calculate the solution, and turn the puzzle faces with precision. They spent weeks designing mechanisms, testing motors, and writing code.
But their ambitious project soon hit a wall. They realized they lacked the advanced knowledge of electronics and programming needed to bring their vision to life. Rather than giving up, they turned their frustration into an opportunity. The students founded the Beachwood High School Engineering Club, a community for like-minded innovators to explore new skills and knowledge not typically taught in the classroom. “We decided to create that space of learning, ourselves,” Alex says.
Advised by design teacher Brian Hill, the club’s 23 members meet weekly to work on student-led projects, from constructing a mini electronic piano to repairing a broken lightsaber. As they tinker and puzzle out solutions to engineering challenges, they develop skills in circuitry and basic programming. Club members also gain hands-on experience with soldering, Arduino programming, and working with components like breadboards, capacitors, resistors, and LEDs. Beyond technical expertise, the club fosters leadership and collaboration as students take turns researching topics and teaching their peers.
For the founders, one of the greatest rewards is sharing their passion for STEM with others—especially those who might not have otherwise explored these fields.
“There are many people who go through high school without ever being exposed to the beauty within STEM and the satisfaction you can get by building things yourself from scratch,” says Shamith.
The club also inspires members to appreciate the engineering in everyday objects. “A lot of things we throw away, like a broken toy or an old gadget, can be repurposed or rebuilt into something amazing,” says Dotan. “Engineering doesn’t have to be intimidating.”
So agrees Alex: “I truly believe that the most valuable thing that students take from this club is the confidence and inspiration to be creators, themselves.”
As for the robotic Rubik’s Cube solver that started it all? Alex, Dotan, and Shamith, now armed with new knowledge and skills, are in the final stages of testing to make their design fully functional.