More Than Just Technology: Developing Minds, Hands, and Hearts
January 21, 2026
by John Schreier via the Catholic Voice
A version of this story originally appeared in the January 2026 edition of The True Voice magazine. Copies of the magazine can be found at parishes across the archdiocese.
A Legacy of Achievement
The robots begin as boxes of gears, wires, wheels and bolts when they arrive at Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School in Bellevue.
But the finished products — and the students who build and compete with them — have traveled far beyond the walls of the school. Gross Catholic’s robotics program has taken students from Nebraska to regional meets across the Midwest and world championships as far away as China.
And those students – their robots, too – have won awards at nearly every stop, with trophies for three state championships among the multitude of awards spread across two classrooms occupied by longtime Gross Catholic STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teacher Steve Hamersky.
While the robotics program has brought students new experiences in new places, the skills learned from building and competing with robots carry them much further in life, Hamersky said.
“We’ve had people go into medical fields, engineering fields, computer science fields — and one of the things you do find is that they have been doing this teamwork stuff throughout high school,” he said. “When they get to college, anything that involves teamwork, they are ready for it.”
Marianist Principles in Action
Hana Abbott, the school’s principal for three years, said the robotics program is a logical extension and embodiment of the Marianist educational pillar to teach for adaptation and change.
“One of the things we always emphasize is Mary’s ‘yes,’” she said. “Whether it’s academics or extracurriculars, we always ask you to say ‘yes’ to something, and I’m glad we can offer robotics. It’s something very much to be proud of, and to see kids so dedicated, choosing to give up their summers to compete at such a high level.”
From humble beginnings 16 years ago, when the first boxes of parts arrived for the school’s first VEX Robotics teams, Gross Catholic annually produces several two-person teams, with many of the students putting in thousands of hours building and competing since elementary school.
The Art of Engineering
On a recent Wednesday in Hamersky’s classroom, freshmen twins Gavin and Aiden Love demonstrated how their robot works, flipping through a binder that catalogs the programming. They’ve been involved with robotics since fifth grade.
With 80 pages of schematics, the documentation seems exhaustive until Gavin mentions that some of his peers have nearly 1,000 pages.
“I’m the programmer, so I’ve learned quite a bit of code, and we’ve [designed] a couple of our robots,” Gavin said. “We have to document all that we’ve done. So I’ve been keeping a record of what we’ve done, and that’s been an education.”
A few tables away, Patrick Kleinsasser, a sophomore, estimated that he’s put 300 hours into his robot this school year alone — which includes moving onto the second iteration of his robot after the initial version struggled with a particular aspect of the tasks it needed to complete.
“I definitely learned a lot through building and coding the robot especially,” he said. “It’s definitely very slow and takes a lot of time.”
While the building process is tedious and takes weeks to complete and months to fine tune, the matches are lightning fast in comparison. Teams program a 15-second autonomous period, followed by one minute and 45 seconds of controlled competition.
The robots work inside a square arena with a series of tubes and goals, scoring points based on where and how many colored balls they deposit, in addition to completing other specific tasks. Each team involves two students working hand in hand with partners from a different team to score the most points and win their particular bout in the competition, all the way to the finals.
Spirit of Robotics
“Teamwork, communication, negotiation, compromise – you know, all those things that make a good team,” Hamersky said. “That’s something they certainly get out of this as they work together and develop their robots and develop their strategies.”
Meets are awash in camaraderie and collaboration.
A local competition often begins early Saturday morning, with students arriving well before preliminary rounds to ensure everything about their robot is at its best. Winners are crowned several hours later, with banners and trophies to bring back to school.
In the meantime, students work together with anyone and everyone, from teammates to competitors from other schools they may have just met.
Robotics competitions breed a type of teamwork that benefits participants both now and in the future, Hamersky said, with schools sometimes sharing a plan with partners or parts with another team. Gross Catholic’s spare parts have been used in robots that eliminated their own teams, he said.
Robotics has become a logical, if newer, extension of the Marianist principles Gross Catholic is dedicated to teaching every day.
“It’s about growth in family spirit,” Abbott said, “and they’re working together as a family.”
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About Gross Catholic High School
Gross Catholic, a co-educational, college preparatory high school, began its proud heritage of academic excellence rooted in the Marianist tradition in 1968. We consider ourselves one of the best Catholic schools in Omaha, Bellevue, and Papillion. The school motto Dux Esto (“Be a Leader”) is at the core of its extraordinary mission, innovative spirit, and fundamental values. The school offers a challenging environment and outstanding quality of life, both in academics and co-curricular activities, with a strong focus on STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) education. The spirit of Christian service and giving back is part of everything the school does. Gross Catholic’s top-tier status is reflected in its talented faculty, staff, and coaches who take great pride in seeing virtually every graduate head to college, often to the most prestigious domestic and international universities and service academies. Together with families and alumni, Gross Catholic forges relationships for a lifetime, helping to ready the next generation to be exemplary, principled leaders of the world.
To discover the Gross Catholic difference, contact us at 402.734.2000 or visit our Admissions page.