Monrovia Robotics Team Headed to International Competition

When Clifton Middle School’s Hippie Bots robotics students travelto Spain as the sole United States representative at the first Tech ChallengeBarcelona Championship on Feb. 27-28, they will continue a tradition offulfilling the school’s high expectations through commitment and teamwork.

“The Hippie Bots exemplify the spirit and determination of theMonrovia Unified robotics program and their roles as world ambassadors speaksvolumes on how far the district has come in such a short period of time,”Monrovia Board of Education President Rob Hammond said.

Clifton eighth-graders Lupe Hilario and Ty Weiss didn’t know eachother when they joined the Hippie Bots at the beginning of the 2019-20 schoolyear but they shared an admiration for the team’s accomplishments and a desireto contribute to its success, which includes trips to Shanghai in 2016 and theNetherlands in 2017.

“I always looked up to the Hippie Bots,” Hilario said. “I lookedat their success and their competitions and I really wanted to be part of thatand learn engineering. I decided to apply, and I made it.”

Hilario compiles the engineering notebook for the Hippie Bots teamwhile Weiss helps to build the robot and acts as the driver during competitions– and the two rely on each other to ensure the robots perform at peakefficiency.

“My brother, Jake, was a Hippie Bot when the team went toShanghai, and I thought the competitions were fun,” Weiss said. “Then my friendjoined the Hippie Bots last year and he really enjoyed it too, so I decided todo it. It’s really cool.”

Clifton history teacher Paul Flores had no experience withrobotics when he accepted the role of robotics teacher in 2015, but thestrategies he developed as a football coach have helped his students remaincalm under pressure during tournaments.

“One of the things we would preach as a coaching staff was to makepractice more difficult than the actual game, so the game becomes easy,” Floressaid. “When you step out there, there is no stress. The competitions should befun. Everything is just muscle memory. It’s all decided during practice who’sgoing to win these competitions.”

Beyond the opportunity to showcase their talents, Hippie Bots teammembers are looking forward to meeting their international peers, pick uppointers from competitors, learn European history and make new friends.

“The District is deeply appreciative of the community support forour robotics program,” Superintendent Dr. Katherine Thorossian said. “Roboticsis an investment in our students, and they are greatly increasing their abilityto solve problems in the real world. Congratulations to Paul Flores and theHippie Bots for continuing to achieve at the highest levels.”

A Go Fund Me campaign has been launched to cover costs related to travel, lodging, food, and shipping the robot. The goal is to raise $25,000. To donate, go to gofundme.com/f/hippiebots2020.

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