14 countries and the 600 best teams from all over the world on the biggest stage in FIRST Robotics and Rockefeller Robotics was one of those teams! Let’s take a closer look at the team, meet some teammates and hear about how their roles on the team made an impact on our season last year. How did this third year robotics team out of Mount Pleasant High School make it to the world championship in Houston Texas, you may ask? It all started when a group of very driven students came together with an idea and with the help of well known Science Teacher Mr. Schafer, they brought this idea to life and Rockefeller Robotics was officially a team.
Over the years the team had grown not only in experience but the number of students participating. When the team had first started they were a smaller team with only eight students. Over time students began to find out that the school had a team and as of last year we had a team of 15+ students, and this world championship qualifying team is still growing today.
January 6th 2024 the new game video was released and thus began the most exciting season for this team yet. This past season teams were given the task to build a robot that can pick up the game pieces which were orange foam rings ( notes ) and score the notes in the speaker and the amp ( the speaker is taller and has more points and the amp is shorter and you score less points ). Along with scoring points with notes we were given the task of trying to give our robot the ability to hang on a chain in the last 30 seconds of the match. If our robot is able to hang at the end of the match it can score our alliance more points. As we hit the ground running the first concept we had to tackle was the design of the robot. We had to ask ourselves what design would be able to accomplish all of the tasks in the competition not only quickly but also efficiently?
While the design team was answering those questions and started to create the robot, other teammates branched off into other groups such as media and marketing which helps raise awareness of the team and what we do to help get sponsors which is where fundraising comes in. Fundraising is a task that each teammate has to tackle. We reach out to businesses talking to them about what we do and some businesses will donate things like gift cards, food, tools, and other things that would help the team throughout the season.
Every role on the team is important because without one we couldn’t do another.I interviewed some members of the team and we discussed their roles and responsibilities in the team. Let’s start out with driveteam which consists of Dane Whittington (Driver) and Gabriel Lobert ( Operator ). When asked Dane had this to say about his experience on the team and his role, “ My most memorable moment would probably be when we won at Lake City. We hadn’t picked any powerhouse teams but we realized that we had a solid chance to WIN after we crushed the 1st ranked alliance in the playoffs. After that, we just kept going and going to get the blue banner.” When asked about his role on the team Dane had this to say, “ My first year, I was a technician and mainly worked on building the robot after the season had started. My second year, I started as a technician, but then tried out for drive team. I ended up winning the position by a large margin and drove us to a world qualifying position.” When Gabriel Lobert ( Operator ) was asked the same questions he had this to say, “ I’ve driven the robot the past two years, I play a role with designing the robot and I help out with whatever needs to be done.” He also talked about his most memorable moment while on the team by saying “ The most memorable moment has to be when we first won a competition because it gave me my first look at a shot at going to states and then worlds.”
Now that we have heard from both members of drive team, let’s hear from the team spirit herself, Jersey Strickland AKA Rockefeller, our team mascot. When asked how long she has been on the team she responded with “officially a year”, But she has been the spirit of the team longer than that. Her older brother Harold Strickland joined the team his freshman year when the team had first started, and that is when she unofficially became the spirit of Rockefeller Robotics. During one of the first competitions the team has ever competed in Jersey noticed other teams having a mascot when our team didn’t have one at that time. After meeting different team mascots it was at that moment that Rockefeller our mascot came to life.
With the team being created in 2022 there are not many original members left, But I was lucky enough to talk to Harold Strickland, a current member who is also one of the original members. When asked what drew him to robotics Harold responded with “ I joined the robotics team to learn more about engineering, make an awesome team, and the competitions.” Due to Harold seeing the team evolve over the years I asked him what advice would you give a new member of the robotics team or someone that hasn’t joined the team yet but is interested in joining, Harold responded with “Some advice for new members would be to just jump in. Talk to the team, learn what jobs there are and what you would like to do. There’s a part of the team for everyone.”
Even this world championship qualifying team has our fair share of hiccups. Once that sticks out to me the most was at our district competition in Traverse City this past season. We had made it to the finals and we started out strong but during our second match in the finals our robot (named hammerhead ) collided with another robot and broke in the middle of our match. We had made it so far we were not about to give up. Yes, everyone on the team has a role but when push comes to shove those lines get blurred and we come together as a team to solve the problem. We ended up putting a bandaid on a bigger issue that we did not solve until after the competition. This temporary solution helped us get second place and secure our spot at the FIRST Robotics Michigan State Championship.
If you are even remotely interested in joining the team, take the chance there is something for everyone. Every role on this team is important, as previously stated, without one we couldn’t do the other. I wanted to write this article about the robotics team, because I myself am a member of the team and am passionate about what we do. I had joined the team my freshman year and it was the best decision I have ever made.
Not only has joining the team helped me get out of my comfort zone and talk to new people, it has given me so many more opportunities that no other club or team ever could.
