This is an award that is given to teams that have “introduced and recruited new people into FIRST. Through their efforts, they have sparked others to embrace the FIRST culture”, meaning they engaged in activities that spread love for STEM in the community. They were 4th in the qualifiers, meaning they will advance to the next round in the Hague. This was an unexpected win for the team, and they were all filled with joy. We conducted an interview to see what the members had to say.
Shinji A. is a programmer who also occasionally helps build the playing field, and had the role of Drive Coach in the recent Ziest qualifiers. As Drive Coach, he relays integral information such as time and motive patterns, as well as call out to the human players during the matches. He says that one of the difficulties in the team is to compile the differing opinions of the team members into one agreement, but that the feeling of accomplishment of writing the codes and testing them is a very fun part of being in the team. “I was stressed and nervous during the competition, but as soon as I entered the field, those feelings went away.” Overall, he was very proud of the work that went in the team.
Beatrice V., a programmer in the team is in charge of the programming of the robot. She tells us that she has always liked robots, and have also been a part of the Lego League Team in SIS prior to joining FTC. Their robot, Frostie, is programmed using Java (a programming language) and she told us that it was hard to begin, since no one had experience using Java. They are learning as they go, and she says they have shown improvement in their coding now. “The competition was really really fun. It was stressful because everything happened so fast, but it was very exciting.” she told us. Currently, she and the other programmers are working on changing the controller setting and tells us that she is excited for the next one in a few weeks.
Kevin K., the team mechanic plays a very important role of assembling, and caring for the robot. He prepares the robot during competitions, and helps out whenever a technical problem such as a screw coming loose occurs. He has over 3 years of prior experience with robots, and tells us that he loves making stuff. “One of the difficulties was the delays. Since the robot parts arrived 2 months late, we were in a hurry to build it and I missed a lot of lunches.” is one thing he told us. He says that although their robot model was not the most advanced, with team work with the driver Pablo, as well as the other members helped employ Frostie to the fullest.
Jasmine G., who is in charge of outreach, plays a key role in promoting STEM both within and beyond the school community. She organizes events aimed at introducing more people to STEM and the FIRST organization, while also assisting with mechanics. Jasmine explained that the team received the Outreach Award for successfully reaching and engaging a large audience through activities such as the Winter Market, where they hosted STEM-related events prior to the competition. She also clarified that outreach awards contribute points, while rankings are based on performance in the games, which together placed SIS fourth overall and allowed the team to qualify for the next round. “I felt really excited, it was a lot of fun,” she shared.
Yasmine E., manager of the engineering portfolio, is responsible for creating the portfolio that the judges evaluate when deciding which awards to nominate teams for. She described the portfolio as a record of the team’s journey throughout the year, including their engineering process and the outreach events they organized. Yasmine found the competition experience both educational and enjoyable, noting that meeting new people and seeing other teams’ robots was particularly inspiring. “It was super interesting and fun to be there, and we learned a lot from seeing how other teams worked”.
Pablo B., the team’s driver and head of finance, manages the team’s budget as well as driving the robot during matches. As a rookie team, finances were challenging this year, but Pablo explained that the team worked through these difficulties together. During the competition, several technical challenges occurred, including issues caused by the robot being checked in during transport but the programmers quickly fixed the problems. While initially approaching the competition with the mindset of simply having fun, Pablo said the team grew more motivated as the matches went on and they realized how much potential they had. “There was a lot of pressure, but my team was very supportive,” he said, adding that placing fourth in their first year has encouraged them to aim even higher in the next round, for which they are currently training.
Roshan S., a general helper within the team, contributes across multiple areas including programming, outreach, sponsorships, and finance. He explained that his role often involves stepping in when things become difficult, which can be challenging at times. Roshan highlighted several obstacles the team faced, such as delayed robot parts, canceled orders from companies, and financial strain, but emphasized their ability to bounce back. Initially, he did not expect the team to progress far and attended the competition simply for the experience. After losing the first game, expectations remained low, but winning the final three matches changed the initial expectations. “We got through it in the end, and I was definitely very happy,” he said. Although preparing for the next competition in just a few weeks is stressful, he remains excited about what lies ahead.
Ms. Pongo, the coach and facilitator of the FTC team, described the competition day as intense but incredibly rewarding, especially as this was SIS’s first time participating in an FTC event. She explained that much of the experience involved figuring things out for the first time, which brought both challenges and excitement. During the competition, her main role was supporting the team by providing structure, ensuring smooth transitions between interviews and matches, and reminding students to take care of themselves during stressful moments. “I enjoy seeing the students grow, develop new skills, and form new friendships,” she shared. Ms. Pongo expressed how proud she was of the team, noting how they truly came together, supported one another, and began planning their next steps as a united team.
Ms. Loureiro is a facilitator of FTC, and works as the Head of Technology at SIS. Along with Ms. Pongo she facilitates the sessions and makes sure the team is on track. “The most striking moments during the competition were how they are supportive of each other and work as a team, and were finding solutions together. I was particularly impressed by the portfolio presentation to the judges (which was a criteria of judgement). The IB learner portfolio was all there”. She says that at times they speak of big dreams such as going to Houston, Texas, and supports the team’s motivation. “It is really fulfilling to interact with the students and see them grow, especially since I have a more background role outside of FTC.”
Overall, the team expresses pride and joy towards the qualification, and the enthusiasm could be felt even in the interview sessions. Their activities such as the Winter market, and an archaeology competition have also contributed to their Reach Award for the efforts to promote STEM activities in the community. Their appeal of enthusiasm and financial sustainability was one of the major components of their award. The program has different awards, such as the Innovative Award, Design Award, and Think award, but SIS as a first year participant, managed to receive a very prestigious award, and we cannot be prouder. They have been working on some enhancements of the robot in preparation for the regional tournament in the Hague in the Netherlands on Friday 6th of February.
