At Bow High School’s graduation on Friday, the robotics team executed one last project.
Graduates Derek Baier, Dirk van der Merwe and Colton Currier donned LED matrices atop their graduation caps, illuminated with words and designs of their choosing. Each cap had its own Wi-Fi network, and by connecting to it, the roboticists could manipulate the brightness, color and animation of the tiny bulbs.
Currier proudly tipped his head downwards to show his cap’s message: UNH, where he will study mathematics in the fall.
“I started yesterday at nine,” Baier said. “I was up until 3 a.m. building them, and then we programmed them at Panera earlier today.”
Robotics club co-presidents Baier and van der Merwe led their team to the world championship this year. Aside from their electronic collaboration, the two are old friends. Their shared interests and similar-sounding first names built a tight bond.
“In fifth and sixth grade, we were in the same class, and the teachers mixed us up all the time,” van der Merwe said.
Now, the two are bound for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where Baier will study electrical engineering and computer science, and van der Merwe will study mechanical and robotics engineering.
“I grew up trying to figure out how things work. Programming has always fascinated me,” Baier said. “Like, you can take computer chips made out of sand, and you can make them do incredible things that we take for granted every day. I just want to be a part of that.”
While Baier plans to focus on software, his friend has chosen a different route.
“I’ve grown up with Legos and building go-karts with my dad, so I’ve always been fairly mechanically-inclined,” van der Merwe said.
Bow graduates Dirk van der Merwe (left) and Derek Baier, with their illuminated caps, get ready to process at the Bow High School graduation on Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Bow graduates Dirk Van Der Merwe (left) and Derek Baier, with their illuminated caps, get ready to process at the Bow High School graduation on Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Bow High School graduates get their photographs taken outside the auditorium at Saint Anselm College before the ceremony on Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Dirk Van Der Merwe, with his illuminated cap, gets ready to process at the Bow High School graduation on Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor 
Bow High School graduates gather outside the auditorium at Saint Anselm College before the ceremony on Friday, June 12, 2026. Credit: GEOFF FORESTER / For the Monitor
The co-presidents did not hesitate to point to their robotics coach, Pam Cafasso, as a source of inspiration.
“She’s the best teacher ever,” Baier said.
Van der Merwe will miss how his calculus teacher, Dr. Paul Cohen, pushed him academically. No other class has topped his instruction, he said.
Anything else is “just not a Dr. Cohen class,” he said. “I don’t know how else to describe it.”
Although the two will miss the educators who made an impact on them at Bow, leaving New Hampshire for Massachusetts excites them — van der Merwe especially.
“There’s not much other than woods here. It’s nice to be able to go somewhere and explore new places,” he said.
Finance teacher and commencement speaker Leesa Hudak addressed graduates from the Sullivan Arena stage at St. Anselm College, encouraging them to leave the safety of their comfort zones to pursue high-risk, high-reward opportunities. She spoke in financial terms for one last lesson.
“Now is the time to challenge yourselves. Move to the city that scares you. Take those difficult classes. Start the business. Ask them out. Apply for the job that you’re 40% qualified for,” she said. “Volatility might be high, and you might see some downturns, but this is where the exponential growth happens.”
