Just four years ago, Mt. Pleasant High School didn’t have a robotics team.
Yet this week, MPHS’ robotics students will harness all their skills in science, technology, engineering and math in the FIRST Robotics world championship in Houston, going head-to-head – and gear to gear – against the best teams across the United States and 40 other countries.
Starting this Thursday, the MPHS Rockefeller Robotics will compete against the world’s top teams after winning regionals, then beating more seasoned teams across Michigan to reach the semifinals of the statewide competition in Saginaw in early April.
“We’ve had just 10 days to get ready for the world championship, but this team of students has shown creativity, determination and teamwork all season long and they’re ready for the challenge,” MPHS physics teacher and robotics advisor Ken Schafer said.
Or as junior Lukas DiMaria said about facing the team’s toughest competition yet: “It’s a field like any other that we’ve played on. The goal doesn’t change. Go, play our best, learn, get better.”
At the world championship, the 19-member MPHS team will go up against around 500 teams representing the best of the best from Australia, Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, Turkey, India, Britain and others, in addition to the United States.
The Rockefeller Robotics has come a long way from its start during the 2021-2022 school year, when a small but determined group of students convinced Schafer to lead a robotics team. A few students joined because their friends invited them. Others joined for a sense of belonging. Schafer said the team principle was to cut no one, and that anyone who was dedicated and willing to learn and work hard would find a place to participate and excel. That sense of commitment and camaraderie helped the team improve quickly.
“Everyone on the team shares a sense of purpose, a shared mission and a passion for robotics, and as their advisor, seeing that growth in students is amazing,” Schafer said.
“The entire Mt. Pleasant community is so proud of the students, teachers and staff on our robotics team, and we’ll be cheering them every step of the way,” said Superintendent Jennifer Verleger. “The Rockefeller Robotics team is a joy to watch because their energy, enthusiasm, creativity and problem-solving skills are phenomenal. Our students truly are putting a great education in science, technology, engineering and math on the world stage, and we are so thrilled for them
.”
If the students on the team are ready to compete, the 20th non-human member of the Rockefeller Robotics is primed and programmed to perform in Houston: a 124-pound robot nicknamed “Hammerhead.”
Hammerhead can pick up a flimsy ring the size of a frisbee and accurately shoot it into two different locations on the field. It can also score four rings in autonomous mode, which means Hammerhead is given commands through programming that is done during the first 15 seconds of the match. At the end of a match, Hammerhead can lift itself off the ground to score additional points.
In Houston, Hammerhead will be wearing number 8873. The world championship ends on Saturday, April 20. Audiences can follow the action at Watch | FIRST Championship.
FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” is a worldwide nonprofit that prepares young people for the future through inclusive, team-based robotics programs for students ages 4-18.MPHS’ team is made up of students grades 9 through 12.
