Sisters 1st Robotics Successes

NEW JERSEY'S ONLY FIRST FEMALE TEAM QUALIFIES FOR GLOBAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

By: Mrs. Lee Anne Nugent

When Villa Walsh Academy launched its FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team in November 2020, the executives of their division, FIRST Mid-Atlantic (FMA), awarded the team equipment and tools to commend the students for being the first all-female team in New Jersey and the largest rookie team in its history. Named Sisters 1st FRC Team 8513 (Sisters 1st), it is among only 6% of all female teams actively participating in the FRC! However, Covid changed the traditional season of the competition and prevented Sisters 1st from building a robot during the 2020 year.

VWA SISTERS 1st FIRST ROBOTICS TEAM

”FIRST is more than robots. The robots are a vehicle for students to learn important life skills. Kids often come in not knowing what to expect of the program nor of themselves. They leave, even after the first season, with a vision, with confidence, and with a sense that they can create their own futures.

-Dean Kamon, the founder of FIRST Robotics.

But that did not deter the team of 59 students as they prepared for their official rookie season. Throughout the summer and fall of 2021, the team worked tirelessly to establish and train eight Sub Teams: Build, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Programming, Project Management, Fundraising, Marketing, Website Development, and Community Outreach.

FRC requires high school teams in Grades 9 - 12 to design, build, code, and market a 120-125 lb robot to meet a new challenge every year. FIRST states that FRC “combines the excitement of a sport with the rigors of science and technology. We call FRC the ultimate ‘Sport of the Mind’ . High school student participants call it ‘the hardest fun you’ll ever have. ’ Under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. "

Sisters 1st FRC discovered how very true Dean Kamon’s vision for the FRC truly is! They built a work lab on the ground floor next to the auditorium in Mother Ninetta Hall, trained on various tools including a band saw, drill press, and miter saw, learned how to CAD and code the robot, designed and built a website, posted on their Instagram account, wrote a business plan, designed a team logo to market their unique team, and established a Discord Server to aid communication within their team and with other teams. It was a daunting amount of work in a short period of time for Sisters 1st, but they rose to the occasion and were ready for their first competition in April at Montgomery High School! On the game field with their robot, Rocki, they were led by Technician Kristen Kelly ‘22, Lead Driver Malia Nugent ‘25 and CoPilot Leah Costa ‘25 coached by Cadence Graf ‘23, and Human Player Sriya Jayanthi ‘23. Safety Technician Martha Ainsworth ‘22 managed the pit crew composed of the drive team, Vicky Wong ‘23, and Augustina Martinez Ferretti ‘25. Marketing and scouting was led by Olivia Chang ‘25. Sister Elaine Bebyn, M.P.F., family members, and other team members attended to cheer the team on! Sisters 1st advanced to the district level competition, at Lehigh University, where the team earned the Rookie All-Star Award, Highest Rookie Seed, and Tournament Alliance Champions, with individual honors awarded to Cadence Graf ‘23 as a Dean’s List Semifinalist, and mentor Owen Busler, the Donald Bowers Inspiration Award. Sisters 1st continued to impress the judges and finished the 2022 season ranking 32nd out of the 126 teams in the FMA District of New Jersey, Delaware, and eastern Pennsylvania, and therefore, qualified to compete in the Global FIRST Championship in Houston Texas!

https://villawalshfrc8513.wixsite.com/my-site

“I am so proud of these young ladies. What they have accomplished in such a short time is absolutely incredible. I commend them for their ability to work together and learn so much. I look forward to many more amazing things from Sisters 1st” , praised Sr. Elaine Bebyn, M.P.F.

Statistically, women continue to be underrepresented in high demanding STEM careers. Villa Walsh Academy is committed to elevating STEM education for its students by giving them a competitive edge. Sisters 1st is pioneering the future of women’s roles in STEM. Head Coach and VWA mathematics teacher Mrs. Lee Anne Nugent said, “The self-confidence, leadership, teamwork, independence, and tenacity exhibited by Sisters 1st in the competitions motivated other female players on opposing teams to believe in themselves. They have become role models to young women throughout the robotics

community!” The team is grateful for the additional leadership of CoCoaches Ms. Alessandra Sanchez, a Picatinny Arsenal engineer and FIRST Robotics veteran, Mrs. Carol Forte, a VWA science teacher, along with mentors, Mr. Owen Busler, a software engineer and FIRST Robotics veteran, Mr. Evan Graf, father of McKenna ‘22 and Cadence ‘23, and many others. One team member proudly exclaimed, “We are the Dream Team!”

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