Kodiak Cox, a 2019 Ball Alumni, experienced recent success with the Texas A&M competition blade-smithing team. Already possessing a Civil Engineering degree, Kodiak is going to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in Material Sciences Engineering. He plans on attending graduate school at Texas A&M for a Master of Science in Material Sciences Engineering.
While at Ball High, Kodiak was part of the Robotics team as a Sophomore in World Championship team competing at Louisville, Kentucky. Then later, Kodiak led his own team, 400D as a Senior, to a Robotics Co-National Championships in Autonomous competition at Council Bluff, Iowa. These big events prepared him for heated competition such as seen in the “forge”.
The Aggie team was coached and guided by Cowboy Szymanski of Bellville Texas, who was a former competitor on the first season of the “Forged in Fire” show. Cowboys’ wife is an Alumnae of Texas A&M and strongly encouraged his involvement with “The 12th Blade” team.
The wildly popular show on the History Channel network is attributed to the overlapping and multiple genres such as the workingman (welding & mechanics), gamers (weaponry & functional-art), and military (veterans, historians & martial-arts).
The Aggies were charged with the creation of a “Sikh Khanda Blade”, then it was compared and competed against 14+ other universities at Orlando, Florida in structural and functional categories. “The 12th Blade team” rose to this cutting-edge competition, and grinded their way to greatness.
The Aggies surpassed outstanding by receiving honors of 4th place or above in all categories. The structural categories tested were design, measurements, balance, hardness, and toughness. The functional categories tested were strength, stress, and effectiveness.
“The 12th Blade Team” quenched their thirst for victory following a rich Aggie tradition.