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Shelby, OH – FIRST Robotics Competition Team 5413, Stellar Robotics, now owns the title of State Champions. On Saturday, May 30 at Thurgood Marshall High School in Dayton, OH, the state’s top 24 teams competed for the honor, but it was Stellar and their two alliance partners who brought home the gold.
“This is the best example of teamwork and living up to our motto (Aim High, Achieve High) that I’ve seen,” said Team Mentor Dave Schuler, Electrical Engineer at Stoneridge in Lexington. “I’m very proud of the entire team.”
Stellar has continued to improve performance by improving their machine. Since the World Championship event in April, they have added a mechanism that helps to align the game pieces for easier and quicker acquisition.
“The students planned and implemented this improvement with the help of their mentors,” said Team Facilitator Chantal DeYoe. “They’ve continued to be motivated after each event, which is exactly what this program does for you. Once you get involved, you see how cool it really is.”
The team has room for more high school students to get in on the action. While building a robot might sound intimidating, participating on a FIRST team is anything but. The original thirteen students who came into this program knew nothing about it, and with the help of their mentors have begun learning machining, wiring, programming, design, CAD—and that’s just the technical stuff. Opportunities abound for other interests such as artistry and public relations, just to name a couple.
“By the time a FIRST student graduates high school, they have the ability to be a skilled intern or employee at a local industry,” says DeYoe. “That makes FIRST Robotics a valuable addition to this area.” FIRST participants also receive more than $22 million in college scholarships each year.
Over the summer the team will be touring some of their sponsor’s industrial facilities, sharing robotics with children through the library’s summer reading program, and competing in the nation’s most prestigious off-season event, the Indiana Robotics Invitational. Stellar is the only rookie team to have been invited this year. You’ll be able to watch the livestream on July 17 and 18 via the team website www.firstroboticsmansfield.com.
Stellar Robotics is hosted by North Central State College at the Kehoe Center in Shelby, OH. Other major sponsors include NASA, ArcelorMittal, and Searchlight LLC. More than twenty additional area businesses provided financial support to the team during their first season. Donations to fund this year-round program are accepted at any time through the team website at www.firstroboticsmansfield.com. Stellar Robotics is a tax exempt public charity under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax deductible.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, inventor and entrepreneur, to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. FIRST programs encourage innovation and help students build practical skills.
Names, left to right as viewing the photo (not worrying about front or back):
- Bob Shutt, mentor, Rable Manufacturing
- Jacob Reese, senior, Lexington High School
- Thomas Beer, junior member, homeschool
- Alex Crouch, student mentor from Team 2252, The Mavericks, Milan, OH
- Lindsey Corcoran, freshman, homeschool
- Eric Watts, sophomore, Ontario High School
- Trent Beer, freshman, homeschool
- Michael Adams, freshman, Mansfield Christian Independent Study
- Coulter Williams, freshman, homeschool
- Cai Allen (kneeling), junior member, homeschool
- Dave Schuler, mentor, Stoneridge
- Ciaran DeYoe, junior, homeschool
- Orion DeYoe, mentor, Bellevue Manufacturing
- Andrew Stephan, sophomore, Mansfield Christian Independent Study
- Randy Allen, mentor, Ontario Christian Church
- Chantal DeYoe, team facilitator, Norwalk First UMC
- Christopher DeYoe, mentor, Your HomeWorks, LLC