January 7, 2026

Some of Nehemiah Armstrong’s most critical robotics engineering work isn’t happening in a university lab. It’s happening in a fifth-grade classroom at Columbus’ Dimon Magnet Academy.

Armstrong represents a bridge between high-tech ambition and deep community service. The backdrop for his service is the groundbreaking Professional Development Lab School partnership between Columbus State and the Muscogee County School District, launched earlier this year. Its mission is ambitious: to serve the community by equipping K-12 students, their families and aspiring teachers studying at CSU with the tools for success. This strategic partnership embeds Columbus State talent directly into the K-12 ecosystem, providing an integrated approach to education, health and wellness.

Dimon Magnet Academy is a unique setting for the lab school concept. Being the district’s only STEM-certified school recognized by the Georgia Department of Education drew Armstrong’s attention. He’s now one of 50 other Columbus State students—naturally, those majoring in education, but also spanning fields like robotics, arts and nursing—who are sharing what they learn in the college classroom to inspire some of the city’s youngest learners.

Armstrong’s journey to Dimon is as impressive as it is diverse. Before enrolling at Columbus State, he earned a business administration degree from Clark Atlanta University. He also served six years in the Army National Guard, including a tour in Afghanistan as a combat medic. His resume also includes experience as an electrician apprentice—leading him to launch a highly rated side business—and his current full-time role as a die technician at Oneda Corporation, a Columbus-based precision metal stamping manufacturer.

“Juggling work, school and community service has taught me the importance of discipline, time management and perseverance,” he shared. “These are qualities that I strive to model for the students I mentor at Dimon.”

Motivated by his faith and a desire to serve the local community, he and his wife now call Columbus home; Armstrong’s “why” is personal. With his wife pursuing a medical degree at Mercer University and their first child on the way, he views his work at Dimon as an investment in the village that will raise his own children.

While Armstrong’s academic focus is on robotics, his impact on Dimon is far-reaching. He currently provides one-on-one mentoring to students who need strong role models and offers academic support in mathematics to fifth graders. However, his most visionary contribution is developing “Dimon’s LitLab,” an after-school mentoring program set to launch in January 2026. Co-led by Armstrong, the LitLab will focus on literacy and social-emotional support.

It might seem unusual for a robotics engineer to champion reading, but Armstrong sees the connection clearly.

“Literacy is the foundation for all learning,” he explained. “Research tells us that students who are not reading proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school.”

For Armstrong, ensuring a student can read is the first step toward building and programming robots. Through structured interventions rooted in the science of reading, he believes Dimon’s students can reach state proficiency metrics, unlocking their potential in all other subjects—including STEM.

Armstrong’s work is a testament to the power of the Professional Development Lab School model. By bringing his diverse life experiences—from the discipline he’s honed in the military and through his college studies, to the precision required by engineering and science—into an elementary school, he is doing more than tutoring; he is building a legacy.

“I am deeply committed to serving our community so that we are setting ourselves up for success now and in the future,” Armstrong said. His goal is simple but profound: “to give students the tools and confidence to become productive citizens who will, in turn, pay it forward.”

As Armstrong prepares to eventually serve the nation as a Department of Defense robotics engineer, he is already serving his community’s most valuable asset: its children. Through his efforts, the partnership between Columbus and Dimon Magnet Academy proves that the most powerful technology available is still the human heart committed to service.

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Main image: Nehemiah Armstrong stands in the Dimon Magnet Academy Media Center.

Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Executive Director of Strategic Communication + Marketing, 706.507.8729, mtullier@columbusstate.edu