Thirteen-year-old Jedidiah loves a good mystery and the mystery he is trying to solve on the Arizona State University campus is why his robot won’t turn right.
Coached by experienced robot builders Immanuella Kankam, a graduate student is mechanical engineering, and Ibtisaama Ahmed, a graduate student in global logistics, Jedidiah types new programming into the robots guidance system. Tap, tap, tap. Click, click, clip. Hit “enter.”
Success!
The whole experience, the teen says, “was super fun.”
Building robots combines a little bit of two of Jedidiah’s favorite things: Legos and mysteries.
“I love building Legos,” he says.
He also loves crime solving – absorbing television shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds and devouring copies of Encyclopedia Brown, a series of books featuring the adventures of a boy detective in which the reader tries to solve the mystery.
Jedidiah says he dreams of a career in law enforcement.
“I want to be an FBI agent because I want to make the world a better place,” he says.
While adoption is always the primary goal, Jedidiah would benefit from moving from his group home into the family setting of a foster family, says adoption recruiter Crysta Hernandez.
Jedidiah would fit in with a forever family that is comprised of one parent or two parents, but would benefit from having a strong, positive male role model.
“I really want to have an older brother,” Jedidiah says.
Watch the stories of children in foster care waiting on forever families each week on the Wednesday’s Child segment each week between 5-6 a.m. on 12 Today. You can also view previously aired stories at www.aask-az.org.
For more information on children eligible for adoption, call Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) at 602-930-4900, or visit www.aask-az.org.
