She’s 14 and he’s 13. She’s bubbly and excited to share her opinions. He has a shy smile and is a little more measured with his words. Both have a love for robotics. Lilit and Ashot Tarumyan are brother and sister TUMOians who come to the Yerevan center from Ashtarak two times a week (currently three so Ashot can work with the robotics team for an upcoming competition).

Lilit began attending TUMO almost two years ago and has since decided to focus on robotics and game development. “I love that whatever idea you have, you can make it a reality in robotics. The coaches are also great and always motivate us.” Her favorite learning lab thus far was with NASA engineer Richard Ohanian because they had the chance to not only learn how to make robots, but also how to create their own projects and work towards their goals.

Ashot likes to sample a variety of different TUMO focus areas. “I first started participating in robotics workshops because I thought it would be interesting. I was right. But then I decided I wanted to be a programmer, so I took some programming workshops. And then, I wanted to learn Unity, so I took part in game development workshops. I feel it’s important to learn as much as I can to be a successful programmer in the future.”

Even though these two have similar interests and even participate in the same workshops, this brother and sister duo don’t feel any sort of competition between each other. In fact, it’s the opposite. “We always help each other. If one of us misses a workshop or didn’t understand something that well, we do whatever we can to make sure the other gets it.”

We see nothing but good stuff in these young TUMOians’ future. In fact, we see the good stuff multiplying; they have a five year old younger brother who will undoubtedly look to his older brother and sister for advice on how to make it big at TUMO, in seven years.

FUN FACT(s) 

Lilit loves reading. So much so that when she starts reading a book she finds interesting she shuts the door to her room and doesn’t eat or speak to anyone until she’s done with it. Her mother is not a fan of this habit.

Ashot skipped a grade and is now in the same class as her older sister. He also has a tendency to become so focused when he is working on something that he is impervious to outside distractions. His mother is also not a fan of this habit