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Livonia robotics captains report record season, grant for 3-D printers
Summary
Student leaders from Livonia robotics teams described a season of district, state and world competition success, off-season events, outreach plans and a $10,000 Ford Philanthropy grant to establish a 3-D printer lab for teams.
Several Livonia robotics captains used the meeting's audience communications period to summarize the teams' competition results, community outreach and a philanthropic grant the program recently received.
Catherine Grunewald, a senior captain for the Livonia Warriors, told the board the varsity team won both of its district-level events this season and earned awards including an autonomous performance award. The varsity team qualified for the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Texas where they were the second alliance captain on the Newton division.
Reagan Spurlock, a captain at Churchill and Stevenson, described semifinal and finalist appearances at state and off-season events and promoted an upcoming girls-focused Goonets event in October that aims to expand opportunities for female students in robotics.
Ovia J. Sankar, a Churchill senior captain, spelled out the season's timeline of activities and said the team received a Ford Philanthropy grant for $10,000 to buy eight 3-D printers and create a maker lab for student use; she said the team received $7,000 the prior year for robot cameras. Sankar also described the team's community outreach plans, including work with the Park School for autistic students and a proposed Nigerian STEM outreach collaboration.
Speakers also noted successful middle-school and elementary programs. The Frost Robo Falcons, a middle-school team mentioned by multiple speakers, won two district events and became an alliance captain on an Edison Division at Worlds—a milestone the students said had not been achieved previously by a middle-school team from the district.
Board members thanked the students and coaches and acknowledged the teams' mentoring of younger students and community service. The board did not take formal action on the presentations; student remarks were part of the public comment period.
