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Welcome to the VEX Robotics Educators Conference. You know, the absolute worst thing that can happen to you before you're ready to speak is the announcement of Happy Hour and Open Bar. (audience laughing)

Some of the most important lessons in our lives don't come in a moment we plan for. They come in moments we never saw coming. A conversation, a decision, a person who steps in and changes the trajectory of everything that follows. I had one of those moments. I grew up poor, and my dad left us when I was in middle school. I remember in fifth grade, I was on the school's basketball team. Now, of course, I'm from Indiana, so you have to play basketball even if you're not very good. But all my teammates had these brand new shoes. They were called Adidas Top 10, and they were popular shoes. I told my mom, "Mom, I need a new pair of basketball shoes." She kept saying to me, "I'm working hard, Vince, I will get you a new pair of shoes."

So I came home from school one day, and my mom was there. She said, "Vince, I have a surprise for you." She handed me a box, and I opened it to find the absolute ugliest pair of black shoes I'd ever seen. They were not Adidas Top 10. I went to school the next day, ready for practice. I sat down in front of my locker, and it was Heath Johnson, you know him. Heath looked at me and said, "Hey Vince, I had a pair of shoes like that until my dad got a job." You know words matter when you remember them 45 years later. I went home and cried all night, didn't have the heart to tell my mom. I went back to practice the next day, picked up the courage to do that, and I opened my locker. There was a box on top, and I just couldn't figure out what that was like, "This is my locker?" But I pulled the box down, and a card fell off. I opened the card, and it said, "Dear Vince, tell Heath Johnson those were your practice shoes."

For a long time, I didn't realize what had happened, but later I found it was Ezra Brown, our school custodian, who had overheard Heath that day and went out that night and bought me a new pair of shoes. I realized at that moment the impact that people can have that don't necessarily have a title, but it comes from people who care. For over 15 years, I have seen VEX enable that kind of impact in classrooms across the United States and around the world. When I look at this room, I don't just see educators. I see people who create those moments, those moments that change lives. People who help young people see the future before they can see it themselves. Whether you realize it or not, each of you is making a difference every day in the work you do. Some of you have been with VEX for a long time, others are relatively new to this. As we look at our work ahead, we keep wondering whether this belongs in our school, in our community, our CTE pathways, our community.

Let me start there. The idea here is that this conference is not necessarily about a celebration of what has been, but it is an invitation, an invitation to join work that matters deeply. It matters for all of our children because this is not just about robotics. It's about careers, it's about confidence, it's about opportunity. It's about our children's future. We're living in a moment when educators are being asked to do more than ever. We look at the world and how it's changing. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we learn, how we communicate, how we work, how we travel, how we solve problems. Entire industries are being reshaped right now. The students in our careers that are being reshaped in real time and some of those jobs they will hold do not fully exist today. Some of the tools they're using are still being invented.

Thank you for being here and for the work you do. Let's continue to create those moments that matter.

Sometimes that can feel overwhelming to all of us, but it really clarifies our mission. AI will change the way we work and learn, but it will not replace the skills that our children need. It will not replace things like collaboration, the ability to communicate, critical thinking. It's not gonna replace curiosity. It's not gonna replace the ability to lead a team through frustration, disagreement, failure, and discovery. And it's certainly not gonna replace a teacher who looks at a student and says, "I see something in you. You've got this."

That is the work. That is the current technical education. Why it matters so much. So I look at CTE, people often, you know, ask, is this a second tier? Is this a second lane? I would argue that this is the absolute most critical lane for all of our students, that all students need this kind of learning. It helps students answer the questions that many young people eventually ask. And I think we've all asked this question like, when will I ever use this again? Why does this matter? Have you ever been in classes like that in college? Like why does this matter right? I've heard things like, well, in case you wanna be a math teacher, you need to learn math, right? But reality is it helps our students solve problems.

So when we ask that question, we often think about the way hands-on learning and applied learning can help answer those questions. It makes math relevant for students, it makes science relevant. It takes the textbooks and creates action and opportunity for our students. It puts it into design, into testing. That's the power of this work. And it takes teamwork from a word on a poster, right? To creating real experiences for students, okay? With real deadlines, real setbacks, and real consequences. And yes, it sometimes includes a robot that is programmed that does exactly what was, sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. But that's where the real learning happens for our kids.

When students build, and test, they fail, they adjust, they try again. They're not just learning technical skills. They're learning resilience. They're building confidence, they're creating judgment. They're learning how to think. They're learning what every employer, what every community, and what every nation needs, people who can solve hard problems with other people. That is the promise of our work. That is what the promise of CTE is, the promise of applied learning. And it is the promise of VEX.

See, for over two decades, VEX has helped students discover what they're capable of becoming. It's hard to believe that next year marks the 20th anniversary of VEX Worlds. Think about that, nearly 20 years of students learning that engineering is not just about having the first idea, it's about having the next idea after the first one fails. Nearly 20 years of teachers, counselors, coaches, mentors, and volunteers coming together, guiding students, giving them opportunities that change the direction of their lives okay? That's the kind of impact that does not happen by accident.

It happened because Tony Norman and Bob Mimlitch had a vision. They didn't just create a great company, they created a movement. They saw early what so many people now understand. When students are given the opportunities and the challenges of hands-on experiences, they rise okay? When the students are trusted with real problems, they grow. And when they're surrounded by adults who care deeply and believe in them, they begin to believe in themselves. That vision has reached millions of students and we're on a mission to reach millions more, right?

I know some of you are thinking and we often think like this is hard, right? It sounds inspiring to go do this work, but can I do it? Let me assure you this. Almost no one begins by feeling completely ready. It's true for teachers and certainly true for students. The magic of VEX is not that everyone starts as an expert.

Thank you for being part of this journey and for believing in the potential of every student. Together, we can continue to make a difference.

Thank you.

The magic is that people start, they have a question, they start with a kit. They start with small groups of students who are curious enough to try. They start with one classroom, one team, one afterschool meeting, one problem to solve. And then something happens. A person who has been quiet all year, all of a sudden becomes a person everyone turns to for the build. A student who's struggling in traditional classrooms becomes a strategist. A student who doesn't see themselves as a STEM student all of a sudden realizes they belong. A student who never imagined a future in engineering, advanced manufacturing, computer science, aviation, health technology, being a machinist, logistics, cybersecurity, or entrepreneurship begins to see a pathway. That is not a small thing. That is a life-changing experience.

Because when a student sees a pathway, they begin to see a future. And when they see a future, they begin to make different choices in the present. Not because students will become an engineer, many will not, right? But every student needs to solve problems. They need to learn to communicate effectively and work with people who think differently than they do. Every student and every student will need to adapt. Kind of like during tornado warnings.

[Laughter]

And every student deserves. Every student deserves a chance to discover they can do the hard things. And this is where you come in. Programs and technology do not change students by themselves. Robots sitting in a box do not transform a life; you do. You create the conditions where students are willing to try. You build the culture that failure is not fatal. It becomes a learning opportunity. You ask a question that helps students see a problem differently. You stay patient when students get frustrated. You celebrate their progress no scorecard will ever capture. And sometimes you're later a former student will tell a story about the moment their life changed. They may say it was robotics. They may say it was a team or a project, but if you listen carefully, they will say it was their teacher, a teacher who noticed, a teacher who challenged them, a teacher who would not let them disappear. A teacher who made them believe they belonged. That is your legacy.

But an education legacy often comes in small moments. A question after a class, a second chance, a ride to a competition, a weekend setting up fields instead of doing almost anything else that normal people do on weekends. A word of encouragement at exactly the right time. Students may forget the lesson plan. They will forget the worksheets. They may even forget to return some of the parts they borrowed, which is a different discussion for a different day. But they do not forget the adult, the teacher who helped them see their own potential.

So the question before us is simple. What do we do with this moment? What do we do? Now is the moment to bring more students into this kind of learning. Now is the moment to connect CTE, STEM, and applied learning in ways that prepare students, not only for college, but for careers and life. Now is the moment to connect all of this to reach students around the world from all backgrounds who have not yet had access to this kind of experience. Students in schools with long-established robotics programs, students in schools where this conference may be the beginning of something new. Talent is everywhere. It just turns out that opportunity is not. Our work is to close that gap.

So let me be clear, this is not about adding one more thing to an already full plate. Educators need more than disconnected initiatives. All of us as educators, we need work that connects. We need work that strengthens our CTE pathways, work that builds durable human skills, work that helps students understand who they are, what they can be, and their learning can take them there. That is what this can be. And that's what VEX can be, that entry. For some students, it's entering into robotics.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to making a difference in students' lives. Your efforts are truly transformative, and your impact is immeasurable.

For others, it's entry into confidence. Others, it's entry into a career pathway they don't know yet exists, right? And I think that is incredibly powerful. If you are here today still deciding whether to step into this work, consider this your invitation. Start where you are. Start with the students in front of you. Start with what your schools can support. Start small if you need to, but start because a year from now, there may be a student whose life is different because you decided to begin.

I want to leave you with one student in mind. Not a specific student. Not a student I know, but a student you know. Maybe that student who is brilliant but doesn't yet know it. Do you have those kids? Maybe the student who's bored because school has not felt connected to anything real. Maybe it's a student who is struggling quietly or experienced past educational harm. Maybe the student who has never been the first pick, never been the loudest voice, never been told they have a gift the world needs. Picture that student; have that student in your mind.

Now, picture what happens when a student joins a team. They're given a problem with no answer key. They are needed. They fail and the world does not end. They try again and something works. They look around and realize, I can do this. That moment matters because confidence is built not by just telling students they're capable, but by giving them the experiences that allow them to experience their capabilities, right? That's what hands-on learning does. That's what CTE does. That's what VEX does, and that's what makes all this possible.

So as we look forward to the 20th anniversary of World VEX, let's make the celebration not of the past. Let's make it a commitment to the future. Let's bring more educators, more schools into this work. Let's bring more students into experiences that help them discover their talent, their voice, their confidence, and their path. Because this is about more than robots. This is about readiness. This is about confidence and opportunity. It's about careers. It's about our children's future. And I would argue that there is no greater honor, no greater responsibility than to help shape that future.

Thank you for what you do. Thank you for all the students you believe in, even before they believe in themselves. Thank you for the futures you have helped build. What Tony and Bob started has become something extraordinary—a movement has been built, and now we get to deepen it. Thank you very much again for all that you do. And most importantly, thank you for believing in the power of our children.

Enjoy the rest of the conference. Thank you.

(audience applauding)

VEX Robotics Educators Conference.

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