Hoffman students make 5-year-old an honorary Rube Goldberg team member

While a team from Hoffman Estates High School took second in Argonne National Laboratory’s 16th annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest earlier this year at the Chicago Children’s Museum, at least as impressive was the e-mail Principal Jim Britton received afterward from Jen Szech.

“I had the honor of meeting 10 of your students along with Mr. Wayne Oras at the Rube Goldberg Competition held at Navy Pier and I was extremely impressed with each and every one of them.

“While most 5-year-old boys play with action figures, video games, or soccer balls, my nephew, Ryan, builds Rube Goldberg machines, creates the solar system out of Play-Doh, and reads the dictionary along with chapter books.

“When my sister found out about the Argonne Rube Goldberg competition, I knew I had to take him. Ryan made the hourlong commute from Rockford to my house in Des Plaines. After another 45 minutes in the car to Navy Pier, the excitement level was at its brink. Ryan was already declaring this as our best date ever.

“We walked over toward teams 1-4. The students were all working intensely on last-minute tweaks. Ryan just wanted to see the machines work. This was not going to happen and his excitement was gone. My heart sank. We proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes exploring the Children’s Museum.

“As the competition began, walking past some of the teams Ryan asked, ‘Where does the machine start?’ He would get a student to point and tell him or ignore him completely. Until Team 10, Hoffman Estates.

“Haley Worman was sitting on the ground (perfect eye level to a 5-year-old) as Ryan approached and asked the question, “Where does the machine start?” Haley not only pointed out where it started, but proceeded to explain the entire step-by-step process. Mind you the group was getting ready for the first round of judging and making sure everything was set up properly. Ryan stood by asking questions and was given such positive attention from the teens.

“It was finally time for Team 10. He cheered for them and was a little upset when they needed to use a couple of helps during the run. As we went to have lunch, he was already praying Team 10 would win.

“I was so touched that while they spent months working on this project, they were able to put some of the pressure aside and make a teachable moment occur.

“After the judging was completed, the Channel 5 cameraman wanted some shots of the machine in action. Alana Bliudzius let Ryan blow up the balloon needed and Danny Lyons allowed Ryan to push the button to start the machine. You can imagine how excited Ryan was at that! The team had adopted Ryan as their honorary member.

“Danny took the team T-shirt off his back to give to Ryan. Fellow teammates Adam Long, Alex Swartzell, Andrew Ruthe, Ari Divizio, Brian Hagen, Justin Wiewiora, and Weston Bruemmer were also a part of making the Rube Goldberg competition a memorable experience for Ryan.

“The team even decided to let Ryan be a part of their team picture as they accepted the award for second place.

“The students might not realize it now, but the love they shared for learning will forever be with that 5-year-old boy. Their character exemplified true leadership. They were a wonderful representation of Hoffman Estates High School.

Sincerely,

Jen Szech

(Ryan’s Aunt)

Ÿ Her letter was abridged for space.