First Tech Challenge
We are an after school robotics team for Pocahontas County High School
We are 3rd year FTC team that has improved greatly since beginning in 2019. Anyone at our school is welcome to join the team and contribute however they can. This year, because of COVID-19, we have had to keep the team size small, but we hope to grow in size next year.
We are a well-rounded team, each of members can successfully participate in all areas of robotics that includes coding, engineering, mechanical design, and planning. We make all of our decisions as a group and value the opinions of all of our team members.
The Team
Mason
I am sixteen years old. I have spent my life in rural West Virginia. I spent three years in the FLL program and since graduated. While continuing my love for robotics I joined the FLL mentoring program. This is my first experience with FTC as a member. My FLL team saw an FTC competition and we were fascinated. Given that three of us were going into the high school we decided to start our own FTC team. Since we are a rookie team we had a steep learning curve. FTC has taught me how to problem solve efficiently and effectively.
Hazel
I am a senior at Pocahontas County High School. This is my first year participating in FTC. I am in the robotics class at school. I like robotics because you are always learning something new no matter how much experience you have. I appreciate the continuous problem solving involved with robotics. Being from a smaller populated area there are not as many opportunities to be involved with robotics so I am grateful to be a part of FTC. I am excited learn everything I can this season and participate in my first FTC competition
Max
I am a juniorat PCHS. I have lived in WV my entire life.I am an alumni of the Radioactive Robotics FLL team. I was on the original Radioactive team, and the team that went to worlds last year. I am very glad to have been able to successfully help start an FTC team at the high school. This is the first FTC team that I have ever been on.
Willie
I am in 9thgrade at Pocahontas County High School and 15 years old. This is my 3rd year in FTC (First Tech Challenge). I was on the FLL team that went to the world robotics competition. This year when FTC started I joined. I have been on the FLL team for three years. I have spent all my live in West Virginia. I have gone to Green Bank Elementary Middle School since preschool. I really enjoy First. During my time of being in FTC I have learned a lot such as how to program Java, a lot of mechanical design and hardware, how to handle stress, and push though when there is a problem.
Sarah
I am a senior at Pocahontas County High School. I have lived in Pocahontas County my entire life. This is my first year as a member in FTC robotics, as well as the first year taking a robotics class in school. It's definitely been a huge learning experience. Having no prior experience with robotics left a lot to learn and understand. I gained appreciation for this field as a whole since starting out because I realized how challenging it really is. It requires a lot of problem solving and perseverance. I enjoy getting hands‐on experience because it's not like anything I've ever tried. FTC has already taught me so much and given me insight to a part of the STEM field I didn't have.
Brycen
I am sixteen years old and I go to Pocahontas County High School. This is my 2nd year participating in FTC or any type of robotics. I have spent all of my life in West Virginia, and I am really glad to be a part of this team. Being a part of this FTC team has really changed me. It taught me a lot about core values. I also learned a whole bunch about coding in Java as well it improved my engineering skills. I really glad I joined FTC because It showed me a lot about core values and being a good teammate as well as teaching my engineering skills.