Westminster Christian Academy freshmen twins Eli and Sam Parham have always wanted to be engineers. With a passion for cars and the science behind them, the boys spend weekends rebuilding a classic car engine and are preparing for a career in engineering at the tender age of 14. When their father asked why an automobile company would hire them, Eli and Sam set out to find the answer.
As they researched colleges, they discovered Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which encourages participation in FIRST Robotics Programs prior to application. With a clear goal in sight, they enrolled in FIRST LEGO League, a program that introduces younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a thematic playing surface.
This year, the Parham twins and four team members were assigned to develop a solution to a problem within the theme “Body Forward.” To solve the problem “Hepatitis C,” they developed a monoclonal antibody patch, for which they received a provisional patent.
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The twins said, “We learned so much from this project – how to design and build robots, work as a team and manage our time.” Their great ambitions led them to participate in a number of competitions, win prestigious awards, and meet influential individuals, including the CEOs of Porsche and LEGO.