At North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics-Morganton, computer science instructor Matt Hilton is doing far more than teaching code. As the coach of four competitive VEX V5 Robotics teams, Hilton is helping students from across North Carolina unlock their leadership potential, on and off the competition field and building a robotics program from the ground up.
The school opened its second campus in Morganton in 2022 to offer its public, residential high school to an additional 150 juniors and 150 seniors each year, students from a variety of backgrounds across the state.
From its founding in 1980 on its Durham campus, the school has emphasized access and innovation, values reflected in the robotics program that Hilton has helped shape from the ground up. “We want everyone to feel like they belong in robotics, whether they’ve been building robots for years or are totally new,” Hilton says.
Hilton oversees four VEX Robotics teams, adopting a student-led approach, as teams are mostly self-organized. Students assign themselves to teams, manage their schedules and budgets, and support one another through design challenges and the competition season. “I see my role as a guide,” Hilton says. “They make the decisions, and I make sure they have the tools and support to follow through.”
That structure is yielding results. In the most recent season, Team 56727D won the Skills Champion Award at the state level, while two teams, 56727D and 56727A, qualified for the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championship. All four teams made it to the state championships, an impressive feat for a young program navigating its first complete turnover of graduating team members.
As the robotics teams look ahead to another season, Hilton remains focused on what matters most, he says, empowering students to take the lead: “The most rewarding part is watching students support each other, solve problems, and grow into confident leaders.”
That sense of camaraderie is a part of their culture. Whether it’s helping a teammate debug code, brainstorming design improvements, or staying late to prepare for a competition, Hilton notes that students at the school have built a community where collaboration is just as important as competition.
