The Clifton Middle School Hippie Bots team members sport tie dyed T-shirts in competition. They are (from the right) Angela Luiten, Farrah Ninneman Sawyer, Daniel Elliott, Lead Driver Jake Weiss, Gregory Seright, Team Captain Aidan McKelvey, and Grant Dickinson. Perhaps the peace signs several of them are flashing here are really “V” for Victory signs.
Clifton Middle School’s Robotics Team has been selected to represent the United States in a robotics competition in Shanghai June 3rd through the 5th, but need help in getting there. In order to fund the trip, a Go Fund Me Account has been set up to help them. It can be found at www.gofundme.com/cliftonrobotics.
The Clifton students are representing L.A. F.T.C – First Tech Challenge. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, an international robotics organization. While the China Academy of Space Technology is sponsoring the trip and paying for all the expenses of the students while in China, including their housing, food and transportation while there, the students and their families are responsible for their own transportation there and any additional expenses. The Go Fund Me account is an opportunity for the community to show its support of the students.
Clifton’s team, the Hippie Bots, built their own robot that they designed to accomplish certain set tasks. Each year the FTC sets certain skills the robots obtain to complete certain tasks.
The Clifton Team is exciting about the upcoming trip and competition in Shanghai. According to their principal advisor and teacher, Paul Flores, telling the students was rather exciting. “Right after I told them, the all disappeared and it took a while to get them all gathered and calmed down,” he said.
The Hippie Bot, team captain, Aidan McKelvey said “competing in China will be an amazing, once in a lifetime experience for me and my teammates. We are all so excited! LA and Shanghai have some of the best robotics teams in the world. We are so grateful that we get to go against the world’s best.”
Jack Weiss, the team’s Lead Driver (driver is the term used for the members of the team who operate the robot during competition) also expressed his pleasure at being able to “represent Clifton and all of Monrovia,” saying, he “cannot wait to compete internationally.”
“It is an honor to be chosen as the Los Angeles FTC representative, considering that there are so many talented and world-class teams in the LA FTC region…This really couldn’t have happened to a better group of kids,” Flores said. “They all have a tremendous work ethic and are a pleasure to be around. I owed it to them apply on their behalf,” he added explaining why he had applied for the chance to represent the Los Angeles FTC at the competition.
The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting Mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well.-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
To assist in the funding process, go to their page at www.gofundme.com/cliftonrobotics.
