Nearly 30 students from Petoskey High School are attempting to reinstitute what had been a highly successful tradition before COVID-19.
That’s because the school’s robotics team will be looking to qualify for a world championship competition when it heads to Saginaw Valley State University this weekend for the FIRST in Michigan State Championship in robotics.
Petoskey, which launched its FIRST robotics team in 2011, had a strong program for many years, according to Tom Ochs, a teacher and the robotics team coach since its inception.
“We qualified for the world championships several times before and this team has a good chance,” Ochs said. “They’ve worked hard to get there.”
Ochs describes the robotics championship like a “3-on-3 basketball game” with different robots competing against each other in a range of categories. The robots are all built, managed and controlled by team members.
This state finals is part of the international FIRST Robotics Competition program, and it brings together top high school teams from across Michigan. The event runs from Thursday through Saturday and will include around 160 teams and thousands of students, all competing with robots they’ve designed, built and programmed.
What is unique about FIRST robotic teams is that not all team members have to be involved in the engineering side. Some, like senior and team captain Aubrey McKigney, focus on the business and capital side, making sure the team has enough funds to compete and travel.
“We do a lot of outreach to the community and try to get sponsorships,” McKigney said. “I used to be on the mechanical side of the team, but I like this better.”
Freshman Nolan Forester didn’t realize how many versatile skills students learn from the experience.
“There are so many other things I can do to help the team,” said Forester, who likes to cheer on his teammates during competitions. “I really thought it was just about building robots, but it is more than that.”
Other team members, like senior Connor Kranig and junior Josie Bielaczyc, do focus their time on engineering. Kranig said the team has improved for numerous reasons, including the fact it has more high-tech and updated shop equipment.
“We use CNC machines and have gotten better at building robots using CAD,” Kranig said.
Bielaczyc said the experience has encouraged her to pursue a career in engineering.
“I really enjoy explaining to people how the robots work,” she said. “It’s inspired me to make it my career.”
Ochs said the robotics team teaches students technical engineering skills and life skills like fundraising, communications and budgeting that is not available in a classroom-only setting.
“Students who are on a robotics team come out of high school years ahead of their peers,” Ochs said. “They have more skills and self-confidence. They know how to communicate with adults.”
For those who are interested in engineering, team members learn a wide range of mechanical skills while finding ways to solve problems, Ochs added.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it,” said junior team member Henry Burris. “There’s something for everyone (on the team) to do.”
The Petoskey FIRST robotics team will know by Saturday night if it has qualified for the world championships held next month in Houston. If so, they will have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks to prepare, from finding ways to pay for their trip to fine tuning the robots. Ochs said the team’s expenses are covered by a combination of school district funds, sponsorships and donations.
“If we do make the (international finals), I think the school district will cover some of that cost,” Ochs said. “It would be a big deal for us to get back there.”
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey robotics team heading to state competition this weekend
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
