The Summer Youth Academies at Sac State’s College of Continuing Education [CCE] aren’t just a way for middle and high school students to experience college life, but a way for faculty to create opportunities for the next generation. 

It’s also an opportunity for faculty to try something new. 

Dr. Garima Soharu Bhandari, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Sacramento State. This past summer was her first time serving as an instructor in CCE’s Summer Youth Academies, where she taught the Aerial Robotics program.

This hands-on class introduced students to coding and drone technology using the micro:bit and Air:Bit 2 drone kit. Students learned block-based and Python programming while exploring flight control, sensors, and drone programming. 

“I have really enjoyed working with high school students,” Dr. Bhandari said. “I’ve always been interested in creating opportunities to introduce younger students to engineering and robotics, and CCE provided me with a great platform to do that.”

Dr. Bhandari completed her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in 2024. At Sac State, her teaching focuses on System Dynamics and Control, and her research is in aerial robotics and autonomous robotic systems.

“It was a natural fit to develop an academy centered on that topic,” Dr. Bhandari said. “It’s encouraging to see students become more curious and engaged as they learn about robotics and gain hands-on experience with aerial robotic systems.”

The summer youth academies are week-long, half-day camps. The first two days, she explained, were focused on programming the micro:bit, which served as the controller, or the “brain”, of the drone system. Once students were comfortable, they assembled their drones. Along the way, they also learned how wireless radio communication allows the controller and the drone to communicate with each other.

“On the final day, the students tested everything they had built and programmed by flying their drones in a controlled, enclosed environment,” Dr. Bhandari said. “It was rewarding to see them bring together everything they had learned, from programming and sensor feedback to wireless communication and flight control.”

Next summer, she said, she’d like to give the students more opportunities to experiment with their code and observe how small changes affect the drone’s performance. 

“By testing, refining, and improving their programs, they can better understand the engineering design process and gain a deeper appreciation of how software and hardware work together to create a better flying experience,” Dr. Bhandari said.

CCE’s Summer Youth Academies saw a record number of 650 students experience college life on Sac State’s campus in the summer of 2026. By working with a handful of those students, Dr. Bhandari said she learned a valuable lesson as an instructor. 

“Teaching high school students through the Summer Youth Academies was a very refreshing experience. Unlike my university courses, which typically build on prerequisite knowledge, the students came in with very little prior technical background and a great deal of curiosity. They were eager to ask questions — not just about how things work, but also about why they work the way they do,” she said. “I really enjoyed that level of curiosity. Their questions often encouraged me to explain concepts from a different perspective. It reminded me that effective teaching is not just about delivering technical content but also about inspiring curiosity and making complex ideas accessible. Seeing the students become more confident and excited as they explored aerial robotics was one of the most rewarding aspects of the academy.”