After a recent visit to the Technical College High School (TCHS) Brandywine Campus, it was Rep. Ryan Costello who left with some legislative homework from local students.

During a ceremony honoring TCHS Brandywine’s commitment to supporting local robotics team Out of the Box, students successfully convinced Costello to co-sponsor H.R. 5168.

Students from Out of the Box came prepared to pitch H.R. 5168 to see if Costello would co-sponsor it. After being presented with a printed-out version of the bill, Costello read it over, and then proceeded to sign it.

“This isn’t the official bill signing, but I want to let you know that this is something I will plan on co-sponsoring once I get back to Washington,” said Costello.

H.R. 5168 proposes to have the Department of the Treasury print a $1 silver coin in memory of Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who was aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it tragically exploded in 1986. A portion of the proceeds raised from the memorial coin would go toward FIRST, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization devoted to helping young people discover and develop a passion for science, engineering, technology, and math.

As a member of FIRST, Out of the Box was thrilled to gain Costello’s support for H.R. 5168.

“We were so honored to have Rep. Costello take the time out of his busy schedule to come out and be a part of our recognizing TCHS Brandywine for their contributions toward helping our team,” said team mentor Jerry Beauchamp. “It was especially great that he agreed to co-sponsor the bill, which will continue to help young people pursuing STEM-related careers.”

Out of the Box Robotics Team 7244 is made up of middle school and high school students from seven schools in the Chester County area. Since the team is not affiliated with any one school, finding a place for the team to practice and build their robots was a challenge.

“Over the past two years we have had to meet in a basement and then in a garage,” said team mentor William Barker. “At one point we needed to go to McDonald’s in order to use their Wi-Fi for our coding and programming components.”

That’s where TCHS Brandywine came in to help.

Team mentor Jerry Beauchamp’s son, Josh Beauchamp, is a student at TCHS Brandywine and enrolled in the robotics program. Since the school had always been so supportive of its robotic program, and other STEM initiatives, Jerry Beauchamp decided to reach out and see if TCHS Brandywine could help.

“TCHS Brandywine was extremely supportive and generous in allowing us to use this space,” said Jerry Beauchamp. “It has had such a great impact on the team to have a consistent place to meet and have access to all the materials, tools, and resources necessary to be competitive in robotics.”

During Costello’s visit, Out of the Box also presented TCHS Brandywine’s Principal, Frank McKnight, with two certificates of appreciation. After receiving the certificates, McKnight reaffirmed TCHS Brandywine’s commitment to supporting the overall development of STEM in Chester County.

“It is our pleasure as part of the Chester County Intermediate Unit to support the team in any way that we can,” he said. “It’s our goal here at TCHS Brandywine to support STEM activities in our area, and we are glad to be of help.”