More than 50 students, faculty, industry mentors and parents gathered in the Rice Theater at Highland School to watch the unveiling of the new FIRST® Robotics game for 2014. Dubbed 'Aerial Assist', this year's challenge requires teams to design, engineer and build a versatile robot that can pass, catch, and shoot a 2' fabric-coated exercise ball.

In a series of competitions that combine the excitement of sports with the rigors of science and technology, three teams and their robots then form an alliance that works together to score more goals than their opponent. In each match, that lasts two-and-a-half minutes, the robots must navigate an area about the size of a tennis court while being controlled remotely by team members.

"Experiential education continues to be one of the key tenets of a Highland education," said Head of School Hank Berg. "In its simplest form, it is learning by doing and reflecting on the experience. Our experiential curriculum includes outdoor activities like rope courses, backpacking, dog sledding, trout releases, whitewater rafting, and Outward Bound partnerships, but it also includes junior and senior internships, Robotics and Lego League, field science, and service learning."

In addition to viewing the hour-long introduction to this year's game, which was streamed live to more than 70,000 high school students worldwide via NASA-TV, Highland School students, teachers, and industry mentors spent the rest of the day participating in brainstorming and break out sessions focused on their initial thoughts on game strategy, chassis design, and overall functionality.

Award-winning Afghani Women's Rights Activist Visits Highland School

"I know how much potential each of us has for making things better. I hope you see those opportunities and learn how to use them for a greater cause," said Ms. Noorjahan Akbar as she opened her recent remarks to Highland School Upper School students and faculty. Still a senior in college herself, Ms. Akbar has already spent half her life advocating for gender equality in her native country.

"The purpose of life," she told students, "is to leave behind things for others who are less privileged." Her entire life has been spent dedicated to this philosophy. She reminded students that they have opportunities because others around them worked very hard to provide them.

"Opportunity," she said, "equals the responsibility to share. We are very lucky here because we have these opportunities given to us and I hope it gives you a sense of responsibility to do something for others who deserve every bit of what we have."

Just 40 days after her birth, Ms. Akbar and her family were forced to flee Kabul when war broke out with the Taliban in 1991. Her family fled first to Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan, and then, when the war reached that region, to Peshawar, Pakistan.

Her parents opened a language center to teach Afghan refugees English, math and computer science. Akbar soon followed in her parents' footsteps of empowerment through education and advocacy.

She was able to attend high school in the US and currently attends Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., thanks in large part to the Afghan Girls Financial Assistance Fund (AGFAF), which provides young women the opportunity to pursue higher education in the US. A research project in 2008 on women's music and songs in Afghanistan led Akbar into the gender equality movement.

In 2010, she ran a creative writing program, 'Voices for Hope,' from which developed the 'Stories to Heal' project for orphans. In 2011 Akbar co-founded 'Young Women for Change,' whose accomplishments include organizing the first march to protest street sexual harassment against women in Kabul, the opening of a women's internet cafe, and the start of a men's advocacy group, in addition to empowerment programs for women.

Akbar has received many accolades for her work including the 2012 Woman of Distinction Award from the National Conference for College Student Leaders; the grand prize in Glamour Magazine's and L'Oreal Paris' Top 10 College Women competition for which she was granted $20,000 for Young Women for Change; and was a speaker at the 2012 Women in the World Summit sponsored by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, whose lineup included Lauren Bush, Sheryl Sandberg, Meryl Streep.

She concluded with a reminder that "stepping out of your comfort zone is a service we do for ourselves. Once you are a more aware citizen, you will be guided to your passion and see that we all have one thing in common: to do better and be better."

Ms. Akbar was invited to Highland as part of the regular speaker series highlighting examples of leadership and social contribution, and to kick off the start of the new Social Justice and Community Action course. The class aims to extend Highland's long-standing commitment to volunteerism and philanthropic support by engaging students in, and raising their awareness about local, national, and global social issues, and equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to act and advocate effectively. The service-learning course requires students to complete a project and final portfolio in a selected issue area.

In addition to spotlighting national and global concerns, the course will partner with community organizations to offer a local lens on issues such as poverty, housing, hunger, healthcare, human rights, and education.

For more information on Highland School, visit www.highlandschool.org or telephone (540) 878-2700.