Charger Robotics: Join the Team
Maddie Tharp, Katie Palmer, Sarah Gerovac, Emilie Fuhr
What is Charger Robotics?
FIRST, an organization working For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded in the nineties by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen. Kamen saw the gap between the number of STEM jobs available and the number of students pursuing these careers. In order to encourage students to join, FIRST took a different approach than most robotics competitions. Competitions resemble professional sporting events, and the excitement in the stadiums is palpable.
There are two competitions available at the high school level. These are the FIRST Technical Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition. Both competitions follow the same structure: a game challenge is given, and teams work against the clock over the course of months in order to design and build a robot. In addition to actually creating the robot, team members learn other valuable skills including marketing and presentation skills that will assist students in the rest of their careers.
Charger Robotics encompasses all existing FIRST teams in Sussex. Starting at the middle school level, students are able to learn more about STEM in a variety of ways. Charger Robotics allows students to grow their STEM skills as they progress through the program. The difficulty of the programs increase as the students gain more experience.
Why should you join?
Charger Robotics is an amazing organization to join for multiple reasons. The main reason most join is in the name: robots. Joining robotics allows you to have hands-on experience in engineering skills and technical jobs, and allows you to work with many parts and pieces. Robotics is not limited to simply building and assembling parts though; we apply a lot of problem solving, marketing, presentation, and communication skills. You learn to become part of a team, and learn how to effectively learn, share, and explain different concepts and ideas with other members.
One of the most common reasons students hesitate to join our team is that they don’t believe they have the skills or abilities. We do work hard to build up the individual strengths and capabilities of those in Charger Robotics, but you do not need to be a math genius to join the team! We have leaders and mentors who are able to teach different skills along the way, and answer questions as well.
What do we do?
In an average FIRST Robotics Competition season, our team begins the season with an exciting kickoff event where our game challenge is unveiled. Essentially, we are provided a challenge in the form of a game with tasks that our robot must complete: perhaps we need to design a claw that can pick up rubber balls; maybe we need a shooter that can throw frisbees. We spend the next few months designing, modeling, coding, and manufacturing a robot to be successful at a competition where we compete against hundreds of other robots from all across the country. Essentially, the Charger Robotics experience provides an opportunity to work with other students and professionals to build a successful robot in a real world environment. This unique experience is irreplaceable in the way that it prepares students with a genuine engineering challenge.
FIRST Technical Challenge teams, or FTC teams, are smaller groups, usually with approximately 8 members. This means that each member can contribute as much as they want without worrying about the time commitment of FRC. FTC allows students to learn more about every aspect of the robot, which encourages them to apply these skills as they specialize in a specific area for FRC, such as design or coding. The benefits of FTC are magnified because it allows students to learn about the engineering design process, prototyping, control systems, all of which are seen in FRC and in industry in a small-scale but highly applicable setting. The smaller groups also force students to take on more accountability because there is less of an ability for students to rely on others to be experts in specific areas.
The skills learned in FRC and FTC can not be taught in a classroom setting. There are specific discussions and insights cultivated by these small group situations that allow students to gain a deeper insight into how the world around them works. However, Charger Robotics isn't just about building robots. Members can practice skills that are valuable in their future, and will have opportunities to work hands-on alongside professionals in the STEM field. Charger Robotics members also develop their teamwork skills, creativity, and leadership skills.
How can you join?
Through 10 simple steps, you can join the 50+ Charger Robotics members immersing themselves in real-world STEM experiences.
You can find these steps at https://www.chargerrobotics.org/join-ftc-frc
If you have further questions, our lead mentor advisors, Dave Woods and Morgan Swartzendruber, can be contacted for further information.
Morgan Swartzendruber: morganswartz010@yahoo.com
Dave Woods: davetherobotman@gmail.com
What insights do current mentors and team members have about the FIRST experience?
On benefits of being on the team:
“Well pretty much any life skill that you might need in the future, you get in Charger Robotics: social skills, soft skills, teamwork, how to be a good person— you get a lot of life skills.” -Morgan Swartzendruber
“It’s fun. And if you’re comparing it to other extracurriculars… since Hamilton was founded, how many pro athletes have resulted from Hamilton? 0. But, how many people who were in robotics went to become professional technicians, engineers, teachers? Probably 85%. If you’re someone who wants to get ahead in your career, this is the place to do it. It’s okay to fail as long as you learn, [and you can] see your creativity come to fruition… there’s not a lot of other clubs where you get to learn and compete all in the same spot.” -Dave Woods
“There's a lot of things that I have learned that wouldn’t directly relate to robotics. I learned good problem solving strategies that can help in other aspects of life outside of robotics. Like when dealing with people I don’t really like, I’ve learned to compromise and deal with them instead of getting mad. It’s difficult being a leader, but I’ve learned leadership skills that… well they will help me out in the future more than football will.” -Jack Musialowski
On the best part of Charger Robotics:
“My favorite thing about Charger Robotics is that there’s a place for everyone on the team no matter what your interests are… it’s enjoyable, we’re a close knit team, and there’s a place for everybody.” - Morgan Swartzendruber
“Going to Arkansas for a regional and being there with friends… getting to see our hard work have great results.” - Jack Musialowski
“Going to Champs was fun, and being able to see the other teams’ robots was cool” - Nick Peterson
