Livingston County STEAM Syndicate team preps for world championships

LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Livingston County will be well represented this week at the FRC World Championships in Houston where they will compete with teams from around the world.

The county will be represented by a high school team from the STEAM Syndicate this week. Yet the STEAM Syndicate expands to younger ages as well, with nearly 40 students from kindergarten through high school. As a STEAM-education organization, the syndicate is open to all county students with an emphasis on inclusion and teamwork.

The STEAM Syndicate has been operating for the last year, offering STEAM-educational programs to students from across the county. It is a non-profit that is funded by a combination of state grants through the Livingston Education Service Agency (LESA), local sponsorships, team registration fees and other fundraising efforts. Students from any public, private or charter school in the county are invited to participate. Home-schooled students are also invited.

According to Board President Jaime Timmins-Bertan, the entire reason for the creation of the STEAM Syndicate is to provide a positive and inclusive experience for students with different backgrounds and abilities.

“Some school (robotics or STEAM) programs are ultra-competitive, and that’s okay,” said Timmins-Bertan. “We offer an alternative. We’re still very supportive of other school teams and programs. We’re not looking to take from those teams but to supplement.”

Unlike some school districts in the county, the STEAM Syndicate offers teams and programs at pre-high school and middle school levels. Timmins-Bertan expects total participant numbers to rise in future years as the organization gets more exposure.

The teams compete in various competitions, and at the high school level are involved in FIRST Robotics competitions, where students learn coding, programming, and life skills through robotics challenges. The Syndicate team comprised of 11 members advanced to the state finals from regionals earlier in the winter. They got there based on their performance at the state finals in early April.

“What I like about this team is that it really does feel like a team,” said Hartland High School team member and Brighton resident Logan Chapel. “We include everyone in everything we’re doing. All of us (contribute) equally.”

That teamwork was on display at the FIRST Robotics Troy Invitational a few weeks ago when, during the first part of the competition, the Syndicate team’s robot was largely destroyed while on display. Team members calmly rebuilt the robot within an hour, allowing them to continue in the competition.

“We had already made sure our wiring was well organized and we all knew what needed to be done to fix it,” Chapel said. “Unlike some other teams, the (parents) don’t do all the work. We did it all – they basically just held our tools for us as we were fixing it.”

Timmins-Bertan said the program is designed to produce well-rounded students that learn multiple skills. Some of those skills are ones they ever would have known they had. It’s why all team members will learn how to support auto CAD, coding, engineering, computer and other skills. There’s even the need for team members to learn video and photography.

“You never know at that age what you may really enjoy and what you want to (pursue) in a career,” Timmins-Bertan said.

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Team member Elizabeth Arrowood knows she wants to become an engineer as she gets older. But despite the educational and practical benefits the team provides, what she likes most is that being a part of the Syndicate team is fun.

“We get everything done we need to plus we have fun together,” said the Hartland High School student. Teammate Brendan Bertan agrees. “We all have the freedom to try new things and share (new) ideas to see if they work,” he said.

Some middle schoolers moved up to the high school team and will be joining their peers in Houston this week. They include:

• Brendan Bertan (9th grade, Hartland High School)

• Logan Chapel (10th grade, Hartland High School)

• Aiden Gorang (9th grade, Hartland High School)

• Elizabeth Arrowood (9th grade, Hartland High School)

• Joey Linton (10th grade, Hartland High School)

• Carter Leestma (9th grade, Hartland High School)

• Alaina Reynolds (8th grade, Hartland Middle School)

• Charlie Moore (8th grade, Hartland Middle School)

• Keira Chapel (8th grade, Hartland Middle School)

• Libby Linton (8th grade, Hartland Middle School)

• Nick Ray (8th grade, Hartland Middle School)

The STEAM Syndicate currently offers FIRST robotics (K-12), Girls Solve IT (girls in grades 4-8), and STEAM-based Scout Merit Badge workshops. Learn more at steamsyndicate.org.

— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County STEAM Syndicate team preps for world championships