Prior to enrolling in a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Introduction to Engineering (IED) class as a junior at Butler High School in Butler, Missouri, Jeremy Shaffer often struggled with his schoolwork despite working hard and getting plenty of help. That class changed Jeremy’s direction. He started working with Autodesk’s Inventor software and before long, he began finishing assignments early, helping the other students, and experimenting on his own. “From that moment on,” Jeremy’s teacher, Neta Apple, said, “Jeremy had a different attitude about himself and his future.” He joined the school’s Technology Student Association (TSA) chapter, who elected Jeremy vice president last year.
With Jeremy and several other students in mind, Mrs. Apple went to the principal, Mr. Oates, to get permission to start a VEX team. “We had no experience working with VEX,” Jeremy said. “We didn’t know how to start, or how to program.” The team pulled together and with some help from the team at Belton High School, they began to make progress. Two weeks before the first match of the season Belton's VEX coach challenged the Butler team to build a robot that could drive in the event. Jeremy and other teammates spent many hours after school and before school working on the robot, even arranging an overnight lock-in. As a result of their efforts, the team built two robots that could drive. “One [robot] would sometimes manage to launch a ball into the net,” Mrs. Apple said, “and the other was able to gather balls for an alliance partner and score single points.”
When a slot at the Missouri State VEX Robotics Championship opened up at the last minute, they jumped at the opportunity to compete at that level. All 450 Butler students lined up around the gym to give the team high-fives. The team’s day at the state championship didn’t go very well, but they had so much fun and learned so much that it hardly mattered.
Through participation in PLTW, TSA, and VEX, Jeremy became a leader known for his determination and capabilities. “He has found out he can do things he never dreamed,” said Mrs. Apple. After graduating, Jeremy continued to work on the family farm over the summer. He attended FFA leadership training camp and has continued to help out with his former team.
This semester Jeremy began college at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, where he studies law enforcement and criminal investigation. “I still plan to be involved with the college’s STEM club,” Jeremy said, “I feel without my involvement in robotics I wouldn't have felt ready to take the next step in my path to a higher education.”
Jeremy’s former team members started their second VEX Robotics season with a new addition—a field recently purchased by the school. The team will host the Bearbotics Mid-Winter Challenge in January. “I think that with the experience gained last year, and with their determination,” said Mrs. Apple, “they are going to make big steps toward becoming a more competitive team.”
Greenville, TX – October 11, 2016 – The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation and VEX Robotics, Inc. teamed up to launch Girl Powered, a joint initiative to engage more young women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through competitive robotics. This announcement comes with a series of Girl Powered outreach activities hosted by REC Foundation partners and teams which will take place today, on the International Day of the Girl Child, adopted by the United Nations in 2011 to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. The launch also coincides with Ada Lovelace Day, globally celebrating all women in STEM. Ada Lovelace is widely recognized as the world’s first computer programmer.
In addition, the REC Foundation will provide 50 new VEX IQ Challenge and VEX Robotics Competition Girl Powered team grants, and a new Online Challenge titled Girl Powered: In Her Words Storybook. Both organizations will offer a selection of marketing and online resources intended to aid coaches, mentors, and parents to further engage young women and girls in robotics.
“The REC Foundation is thrilled to announce Girl Powered in partnership with VEX Robotics to advance girls’ interest in STEM through competitive robotics,” said Jason Morrella, President, REC Foundation. “In business and in education, we know that our toughest challenges are best solved with a diversity of opinion. We all benefit by engaging more young women in competitive robotics as these students will become our future innovators and problem-solvers.”
"The Girl Powered initiative aligns perfectly with the inclusive values on which VEX Robotics was founded," commented Paul Copioli, President, VEX Robotics, Inc. “This program is a natural extension of where our company is headed and will help ensure everyone has the opportunity to experience the potential of STEM taught through the excitement of robotics."
Annually, the REC Foundation presents a series of robotics engineering programs that engage students from elementary school through college in the classroom and at after-school competitions in hands-on technology challenges that build their interest in STEM. More than 20,000 teams around the world are expected to compete this season in the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition, and VEX U. Students have already begun designing, building, and programming robots to compete this season at more than 1,350 local, state, and regional competition events, which culminate in the VEX Robotics World Championship in April.
The REC Foundation is grateful to the partners and teams for their support of the Girl Powered initiative, with activities and events taking place around the world.
Additional details can be found at RoboticsEducation.org/gp, visit RoboticsEducation.org/gp or VEX.com/gp.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work. For more information, please visit RoboticsEducation.org or for details on upcoming events, please visit RobotEvents.com.
About VEX Robotics Inc.
VEX Robotics is a leading provider of educational and competitive robotics products to schools, universities and robotics teams around the world. Their VEX IQ and VEX EDR product lines span elementary, middle, and high schools with accessible, scalable, and affordable robotics solutions. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students’ abilities as they inspire & prepare the STEM problem-solvers of tomorrow. For more information, please visit vexrobotics.com.
###
GREENVILLE, TX – October 4, 2016 – The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation has received a generous $20,000 challenge grant from Microchip Technology Inc.—a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions headquartered in Chandler, Arizona—to support the growth of the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition in Arizona. Through the grant, the REC Foundation and Microchip will invite other businesses and organizations to support the effort and double the grant, which would provide a total of $40,000 to fund up to 40 new robotics teams and support VEX Robotics events.
“We are excited to support VEX Robotics, where students can learn Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in a fun, hands-on engineering challenge building robots for competition,” said Steve Sanghi, President and CEO of Microchip. “We have a responsibility to our children to offer opportunities for them to engage, take risks and actually build things. With VEX, they also learn teamwork, project management, critical thinking and working on a deadline. By offering a matching grant, we hope to excite potential sponsors to support educational efforts and improve our community.”
“Microchip is a long-standing supporter of youth robotics, and we are grateful for their many contributions to expand the reach of the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition in Arizona,” said Jason Morrella, President, REC Foundation. “I welcome the opportunity to work with other organizations to bring sustainable, curriculum-based robotics engineering programs to more students across the state.”
Through its community-involvement programs, Microchip supports the VEX IQ Challenge for elementary and middle-school students, and the VEX Robotics Competition, for middle and high-school students, to engage students in STEM, creating the next generation of leaders in these fields. Microchip supports a number of teams in the area, and will host the Arizona VEX IQ Challenge Middle School State Championship on February 25, 2017 at their Chandler location. At the State Championship, teams will vie for coveted qualifying spots to attend VEX Robotics World Championship, the season’s culminating event that will bring together over 1,400 of the best teams from around the world to crown a robotics world champion across three programs: the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U.
The REC Foundation currently supports well over 16,000 teams in 40 countries around the world through the VEX IQ Challenge, VEX Robotics Competition and VEX U, which reach students in elementary, middle, high school and college. In Arizona, over 300 teams competed at 50 events last year. The program encourages students to design, build and program a robot that can solve an annual game challenge. The 2016-17 season is now open with the VEX IQ Challenge game Crossover, and the VEX Robotics Competition game Starstruck. For more information about the VEX IQ Challenge and the VEX Robotics Competition, please visit www.RoboticsEducation.org.
About the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
The REC Foundation seeks to increase student interest and involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by engaging students in hands-on, sustainable and affordable curriculum-based robotics engineering programs across the U.S. and internationally. The REC Foundation develops partnerships with K-12 education, higher education, government, industry, and the non-profit community to achieve this work.
About Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com.
###
