If you’ve seen some of the hands-on STEM-based projects taking place on the Blue Bell Campus during the past two years, you’ve likely run into the 2025 Commencement student speaker, Ruby Armor, at some point.

The 20-year-old Mechanical Engineering Science major from Lansdale has immersed herself in these types of projects. They, in turn, have helped shape her both academically and personally. Now she wants to talk about her growth and what she’s learned.

“I want to talk about my experience as a student,” she said of her speech. “I wanted to shift the focus to the community at Montco. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything here without the people I’ve met. I want to highlight how unique of a place this is. The people it brings together from all different life paths. I’ve been able to gain a life from them.”

Engineering Project Innova

Since her first day on campus, she’s been encouraged to get involved. She can remember Engineering Professor William Brownlowe, Ph.D., promoting Project Innova, an engineering project involving the creation of an urban concept hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, during her first class. She wasn’t interested at the time, but then the team’s manager suggested she come for a meeting, and she realized the opportunity in front of her.

“The ambition was tangible. Everyone was so motivated,” she said of her experience at the first meeting. “I loved the feeling of working toward this thing. There was a lot of passion behind everything. It was motivating for me to push myself to fight for the same thing everyone else was doing.”

Armor would take the reins as the team manager shortly thereafter and led the team to place second in its division in the 2024 Shell Eco-Marathon Americas Challenge, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   

“It was very intense. There was high energy ups and downs constantly,” she remembers from the four-day international competition. “I was told this prior to going but it was nothing like what I was expecting when I was actually in it.”

The experience overall was a big win, and the team members were elated. This year, though, they decided not to attend the competition and instead focused on improving the car for the future. Armor wanted to ensure the team was in a good position after she graduates.

“We’re leaving next year’s team with a functioning car,” she said. “They don’t have to do what’ve been doing. There are no crazy battles; it’s much more manageable to work on something functional. We’re not rushing to get a car to get into a competition and feel bad when it breaks. Let’s think this out and document it. Let’s structure a baseline to build on.”

Merck Automation Challenge

In 2024, Armor was one of eight students to participate in the Automation Innovation Challenge sponsored by Merck & Co. She and her fellow Engineering classmates collaborated with Computer Science students during a four-day event to program KUKA six-axis industrial robotic arms to resolve a simulated manufacturing breakdown at the fictional "Monty Chemical Company." As part of the challenge, the students developed a proof-of-concept automation system and conducted data analysis.

The experience offered her a chance to learn new concepts and work with people from different scientific backgrounds.

“It was pretty cool to be able to actually get my hands on a robot and be able to manually program it. I never had an opportunity to do that before. Now I can say I can program a robot,” she said. “It was nice to see it all running at the end of long days. I had a very good time. I really enjoyed meeting people and working with very talented individuals.”

Listening to the cosmos

Armor also participated in an independent astronomy study with Physics Assistant Professor Kelli Corrado, where she operated the research-grade optical telescope in the Advanced Technology Center observatory on the Blue Bell Campus and contributed to the NANOGrav collaboration in radio astronomy. It was through this project that she helped build horn radio antennae—small radio telescopes designed to detect strong astronomical and terrestrial radio signals and worked alongside peers from Penn State Abington to create a research conference poster.

Armor said she’s always had a passion for astronomy, knew the College had an observatory and wanted to learn more. She and fellow Mechanical Engineering Science major Thomas Quinn, along with Physics major Loujain Ahmed, have been working together on the project and are planning to visit the Green Bank Radio Observatory in West Virginia with Corrado in August 2025.

“I’m looking forward to operating the big dishes and taking data with them. I’m excited to see people who work there and pick their brains and see what they have to share,” she said. “Being there is a crazy idea to me. These are people passionate about what they do. I’m also passionate. Getting to get my hands on and be in that environment is very exciting.”

Extracurriculars

Armor was named to the Dean’s List three times and is a member of the Alpha Kappa Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges. In 2025, she helped establish the STEM Club on the Blue Bell Campus, where she serves as vice president.

The STEM Club is a student-led group for anyone interested in science, technology, engineering, or math. It’s a space where students can connect, share ideas, and learn from each other. Members meet regularly to host guest speakers, study groups, give student presentations and perform hands-on activities. Some meetings focus on building career skills, like writing resumes or creating LinkedIn accounts. Members also stay current with STEM-related news, within the College and also in the community. They also collaborate with other STEM-based clubs.

Outside of school, she works at Sorrentino Pasta and Provisions in Ambler where she makes pasta.

After graduation, Armor plans to look for an internship in engineering before transferring to a four-year institution. She wants to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and minor in Physics, a passion she’s discovered only recently.  

“I’ve gained that from my time here,” she said. “I’m very interested in the Physics courses here, and I’m hoping to go deeper into that.”

Afterward, she’s wants to pursue a career in space.

“I’m more interested in the research side of space,” she said, “using satellites and taking data from possible other worlds. I want to expand that data knowledge and gravitational research is very interesting to me.”

For now, at least, she’s focused on her Commencement address.

“I’m very excited. I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” she said. “Once it was announced you can apply for it, I’ve thought over a long span of time how I would want to do it. I decided I might as well throw it out there and see what happens. I feel I’ve done a lot of things that I would have an OK shot at it. It felt like a good opportunity to say how I feel about everything about my time here. It’s been very unique to me and has had a big impact.”

“My growth is insanely exponential,” she continued. “I wanted to voice that.”