On March 17th, Coastal Catastrophe, our school robotics team made their way to Charlotte to compete in a First Robotics competition. Student members got help to build the robot from their amazing mentors, Gary Ettenger, Frank Behnke, and George Laurie and Keri McKenzie. The team built the robot months in advance to have a successful robot for competition. The team started their trip on a rocky start but in the end, it was all worth it.

“Being patient for success is about a dark hotel, a stuck bus and a long journey,” said sophomore Ruth Mckenzie. “We were very patient.”

On this trip, the robotics team ran into problems such as a power outage at a hotel, not finding a new hotel until later that night and their bus getting stuck on the side of the road the next day, leaving the team members to walk to their destination. In the end, winning first place was worth the weekend the team had.

Coastal Catastrophe made it to the finals, winning first place and taking home medals and trophies. Congratulations Coastal Catastrophe!

“FIRST Robotics club is a perfect club for aspiring STEM students,” said Coastal Catastrophe captain Madi Workman. “Robotics allows students like me to not only become STEM leaders, but to foster future STEM leaders through instilling in others a passion for innovation.”

Robotics has been a great fit for Workman since she enjoys problem solving and encourages others to embrace their own creativity. Workman has led her team to success and in hopes to continue to states.

Gallery • 26 Photos

Photo by Emely Olmedo

Dean Karwacki checking the coding of robot to make sure everything works the night before competition.