This year, North welcomed many new clubs with the new robotics team among them. Previously, there was only one team in the LPS district, meeting at LHS. Starting this year, the team has split with the new team being named PowerHouse Robotics. It is headed by PLTW and spanish teacher Dr. Sandro Medina.
“Some benefits of splitting off of Liberty are that we get a fresh start, we can restructure the leadership to how we like it, and put have our own input on the structure of robotics like the handbook, dues, and sponsorships. Also, we get to have all new equipment and we have more coaches this year so we have more opportunities to learn,” junior Brandon Stieger said.
Even though the team will be starting from scratch, the members are excited about the possibilities that will come from starting anew.
“I believe that splitting from Liberty will give the North students a chance to participate in more team activities and connect better. Transportation was scarce too, it was difficult to put more time into robotics when you had to wait an hour to get to Liberty,” sophomore Rachel Shouey said.
Robotics gives students opportunities to experience many different aspects of the industry while in high school. The members of the team think they will be able to gain skills they would not be able to experience anywhere else.
“I think it’s important to have a robotics team so that we can learn the aspects of the real world. It also lets people get their names out there like asking for sponsorship opportunities from companies. It also fosters young kids thinking and brainstorming, unlike work during a class. It’s exciting not boring class work,” Stieger said.
Not only does robotics offer special opportunities, but it also gives team members the ability to learn about aspects of engineering and computer science. Some members credit their knowledge to robotics.
“I want to go into Civil and Environmental engineering after high school, but I can’t achieve this goal without knowing important social skills that build strong workers and people of society. Robotics is just not about building a robot, it’s about building up you. Who you want to be, what you want people to remember you by,” Shouey said.
