Birds of Prey, a Hartford Public Schools robotics team made up of students from the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology and the Pathways to Technology Magnet School was one of four teams that won the Chesapeake Regional round of the FIRST Robotics Competition in Baltimore, Md.
The victory earned the team, also known as BOP, an opportunity to participate in the FIRST national competition in St. Louis, Mo., later this year.
The Chesapeake contest required that each team build a robot that was capable of shooting a foam basketball through a hoop. Competition rules then required that Birds of Prey form an alliance of multiple robots with student teams from Pasadena, Md.; Palo Alto, Calif.; and New York City to win the title. A total of 63 school teams competed in the regional clash.
“It makes me proud to see students from one of our themed neighborhood academies and one of our magnets join forces to perform on such a high academic level,” said Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto. “Their triumph in the FIRST Robotics Competition is a testament to our portfolio schools approach to education.”
FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”, is a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire an appreciation for science and technology in young people. FIRST also offers more than $14 million in college scholarships to student participants.
“It (the competition) allowed me to meet and become friends with students from other states,” said Ebony Mcwaynson, a junior at the academy. “I was in tears when we won because now we have a positive story to tell about Hartford students and how we can accomplish good things.”
Birds of Prey, which has won more than 30 regional and national competitions since 1997, is supervised by faculty advisors David Mangus, a science teacher at the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology, and Joan Coleman, a math teacher at the academy.
The team includes of 18 Hartford student members: Raissa Lana, Ajla Rustemovic, Alexsai Daevis, Jonell Smith, Kadeem Henry, Ebony McWaynson, Tom Dummer, Tania Banks and Akeem Sherwood from the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology; and Kenneth LeVasseur, Amanda Rodriguez, Marisol Sanchez, Eric Martin, Stephanie Balboni, Calvin Mahlstedt, Justin Liao, Hakiel Hemans, and Ramon Hernandez from the Pathways to Technology Magnet School.
“FIRST is not only about engineering and innovation, but it is also about diversity and exposes us to different people and cultures,” said BOP team member Hakiel Hemans, a sophomore at Pathways. “FIRST makes me think about what I want to pursue in college.”
Birds of Prey is a great example of collaboration between Hartford Public Schools and the city’s corporate citizens. The team is sponsored by Pratt & Whitney, J.C. Penny, Connecticut Light & Power, Mazak, AI Engineers and several other community organizations. Several former members of Birds of Prey are now engineers at Pratt & Whitney.
The team is already preparing to participate in the Northeast Utilities Connecticut Regional competition on March 30 and March 31 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
