Academy of Our Lady’s robotics team traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas to compete in the FIRST Rock City Regional on March 6-9 and returned home with the Imagery Award.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competitions challenge students to design, build and code a robot to perform specified tasks for a game. The game at the Rock City Regional Competition was entitled Deep Space.
The Rock City Regional Competition was held at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds and encompassed 58 teams from nine states and three countries. Academy of Our Lady’s Robotics Team, the Power Struck Girls, placed 17
th in the qualifying matches in addition to winning the Imagery Award.
The Imagery Award is given in honor of Jack Kamen, an American illustrator, and celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration from the machine to the team appearance.
Academy of Our Lady’s robotics team logo is Rosie the Riveter enhanced with a mechanical arm. According to the competition judges, “Academy of Our Lady’s robotics team exceptionally integrated an original theme to encourage and empower women in STEM both within the team and among their community. The team members were decked out in iconic jumpsuits, bandanas and even some lipstick but with a twist – a cyborg arm sleeve for flexing. Even the robot displayed an image of their icon with a cyborg arm and bright RBGs. They even used a mixing bowl as their cargo carrier, fitting their motto: Sugar and Spice and Robotic Device.”
Team members who participated in the Rock City Regional were senior Michaela Thaibinh, senior Bailey Ziegel, junior Madelynn Rossi, sophomore Sarah Guidroz, sophomore Emily Lubag, sophomore Patricia Lubag, pre-freshman Skylar Alexander, pre-freshman Duyen Pham and pre-freshman Kyra Poree. The team moderator is Academy of Our Lady faculty member Mrs. Amy Morriss. Engineers Irwin Langhoff and alumna Mary Trauth, IHS ’77 serve as team mentors.
“I am thrilled to see our students develop such an interest and passion for robotics and engineering. By participating on the robotics team and taking the engineering, robotics and physics courses offered, the girls are equipped with the tools and skills needed to achieve great success in college in preparation for pursuit of a career in these fields,“ Principal Sr. Michelle Geiger explained. “Our goal at Academy of Our Lady is to provide students with the confidence and academic tools they need to accomplish their goals and even consider breaking barriers in any field they wish to pursue.”