Teen of the Week: Parkersburg High School student plans to make a career out of passion for robotics | News, Sports, Jobs

Bradley Leonard holds a shirt the robotics team made at Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Bradley Leonard, a member of the Parkersburg High School Robotics team, wants to take his skills to the next level.

Once he graduates, Leonard would like to attend a college that supports his passion of robotics. He said he is interested in learning more about coding and electronic engineering.

“I am interested in going to Marshall University to pursue my electrical engineering, and to work at NASA,” he said. “NASA has been a dream of mine, but did not realize how much until this year, now that I’m getting older.”

Leonard said that as a part of NASA he would one day like to build a robot that would land on different planets, and help those in space continue to build the space station as technology changes.

“I would love to be a part of that,” he said.

Bradley Leonard practices balancing the PHS robotics team’s robot while holding two mobile goals. (Photo Provided)

Leonard was first introduced to robotics and the Ravenswood robotics team in 10th grade from his teacher, Toni Burks.

“The team in Ravenswood almost made it past the state competition, but coronavirus hindered many competitions,” he said.

In his junior year, Leonard and the rest of the Ravenswood robotics team were recognized by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., for its performance in the state competition of May 2021.

“It was a good feeling being recognized by Mr. Mooney,” he said.

Leonard said he learned how to be a leader and brought it to the PHS team in order to better their skills.

Bradley Leonard takes a picture with the three awards the PHS robotics team won at the Brooke High School robotics competition. Also pictured is Logan Miller. (Photo Provided)

“I was a leader in robotics at Ravenswood and I enjoy helping other learn to work on robotics,” he said.

Leonard works with the other students on the team and helps teach them the designing, building, and coding aspects of robotics. He said he received his certifications of coding, app and game design from the Roane-Jackson Technical Center in Leroy.

“I have always liked working puzzles, and robotics gives me a more challenging puzzle,” he said about his love of robotics. “Robotics is a passion that comes easily for me.”

Leonard said one of the parts he loves most about designing robots is his imagination coming to life right before his eyes as he watches it being created.

Leonard takes his robotics as serious as a job. He said robotics is incredibly time consuming between all of the aspects that go into creating a bot. He said he spends 35 hours a week doing robotics with the PHS team.

Robotics Program Teacher Steve Reiner, left, and Bradley Leonard, right, check one of the robots outside of Parkersburg High School. (Photo Provided)

“I spend three days a week after school and every day in my free period working on my bots,” he said.

In his spare time, Leonard enjoys spending time riding four wheelers on his farm near Ravenswood. He also loves playing computer games and spending time with his six cats, Stampie, Lucy, Princess, Rose, Poof, and Boots.

James Dobbs can be reached at jdobbs@newsandsentinel.com

Bradley Leonard receives a congratulations letter from Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., for his work in robotics at Ravenswood High School. (Photo Provided)

From left to right, Logan Miller, 15, Bradley Leonard, 18, Jackson Simmons, 15, at Brooke High School after the robotics competition. (Photo Provided)