Sharon High School robotics ends season on high note

Mar. 31—SHARON — The neat part about robotics is that whatever field students decide to go into, they can use any of the skills they have learned during their time in robotics, said Dave Tomko, coach of the Sharon High School FIRST Tech Challenge Team and Tiger Techs robotics teams at the elementary/middle school level.

Senior Kaytlen Moroney, member of the high school team, decided to study music education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania next year and her brother, Kayden Moroney, also a member, will study computer science at Thiel College.

"It's a bittersweet moment when they become seniors because they've been in the program for so long and then to see them finally go off on their own and see what great things they have in store after high school," Tomko said. "It's kind of cool to see them grow and develop throughout the years."

The FTC team finished out their season on a high note as they traveled to the state championship, competing against 150 teams across the state. The team won the first place Promote Award, which is given to the team that is most successful in creating a compelling message for the public designed to change the culture and celebrate science, technology, engineering and math.

The team also won the second place Motivate Award, which celebrates the team that represents the essence of the FIRST Tech Challenge competition through general enthusiasm for the overall philosophy of FIRST.

Sophomore Jordan Prelerson has completed her first year in robotics at the district. She said her brother, Jacob, inspired her to join the team.

"He grew a lot through robotics. He became a different person," Jordan said. "STEM changed his life so I wanted to be a part of that to learn how it affected him."

Jordan said over the past year, robotics has affected her in her everyday life.

"Like the little things. We got to travel to Washington, D.C., this year so now I have more connections than ever," Jordan said. "I'm putting a positive impact on our community with WaterFire and all the outreach. I've been able to meet so many new people."

The teams split into four groups in the beginning of the year: CAD (Computer Aided Drawing), mechanical design, programming, business and outreach.

Jordan is a member of the mechanical design team that is led by senior Keegan Widmyer.

"We look at the challenge and see what the field is and the animation that comes out," Keegan said. "We think of different ways we can accomplish it and then I worked with Jordan and a couple other students and we built a general frame of the robot."

The other members of the team are Mary Brown, Naima Allen, Ian Fischer, Ben Fiscus, Matthew Schimp, Warren Hackett and Tony Gaggini.

For competitions, the teams are scored on their robot performance and eight other awards based on how the team operates over the entire season. They have to submit a 15-page portfolio outlining the whole season.

Teams also make STEM connections where they learn about careers and go through the entire design process of the robot and the drones.

Robot design and performance plays into it.

Tomko said the students had to design a robot with an intake system that picked up pixels and deliver them on the field. They also had to hang the robot on a truss system and shoot a drone from their robot.

They had to program the robot to detect an object on the field and then complete a task on the field over a 2 1/2 -minute game. The first 30 seconds of the game, the robot is autonomous and the rest of the time it is driver-controlled.

In addition to building their robot, the team has been involved in connecting with the STEM community.

The team visited Cattron Intelligent Solutions in Warren, Ohio, to learn about STEM careers, invited a safety specialist from Penn State to help them develop a safety plan, visited NASA Glenn Research Center, and also visited the Navy Air and Warfare Center in Lakehurst, N.J., to learn about their role in launching airplanes off of aircraft carriers. The team also learned about the various STEM careers the Navy has to offer including active duty and civilian jobs.

Upon their return from the state championship, the team visited the state capitol where they met with state Rep. Parke Wentling and state Sen. Michelle Brooks. The team shared about their season and robot and were introduced on the senate floor by Brooks.

Tomko, who has coached the high school team for seven years and the Tiger Techs for 14, said the students always teach him something every year.

"It amazes me what the students are able to accomplish, especially when I give them a task and they have to come up with a solution on their own or with another set of students," Tomko said. "It's great to see what they come up with and put to action on the field."

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com

Follow Melissa Klaric on twitter @HeraldKlaric or email her at mklaric@sharonherald.com