Having experienced the program firsthand and noticed positive results, Chantal DeYoe and son Orion DeYoe are working towards establishing a FIRST Robotics Competition team called Stellar Robotics within the Mansfield area.
Stellar Robotics will allow area high school students the opportunity to create robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors in a competition that is new and unique every year.
Orion DeYoe has participated in FIRST as part of The Mavericks, Team 2252, of the EHOVE Career Center in Milan, for the past four years. Chantal DeYoe became a mentor for his team a year after her son joined the program.
“After the first competition, we were hooked,” she said.
Now, the mother-son duo hopes to bring that same enthusiasm to the Mansfield and surrounding communities, including Ontario, Shelby, Ashland, Lucas, Bellville, Lexington, Mt. Gilead, Galion, and Crestline.
“When we looked at the map of teams for FIRST, there’s a big gap in the Mansfield and Richland County area. If a student wanted to participate on a team, they’d have to drive over an hour and that’s just not feasible,” Chantal DeYoe said.
Thus, the pair is currently in the process of rallying support from local businesses and manufacturing companies to help move forward with the formation of the program.
“A lot of what we need is financial support, but we also need building space and we need mentors to help teach students the skills they’re going to use on the robotics team,” she explained.
The main objective of the program, she said, is to help students learn and get excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), and realize that a career in STEM is not unattainable.
She emphasized, “There are so many ways that students with other interests [beyond STEM] can get involved, too.” She listed writing, graphic design, research and organization, computer animation, programming, and wiring among some of the opportunities that students may get involved in through the program.
She further noted that students who participate in FIRST are eligible to receive more than $19 million in available scholarships, many in STEM careers but approximately 30 percent available to students in other disciplines as well.
The DeYoe’s intend to have a roster of students in place by the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year and compete in the robotics competition in January of 2015. Those interested in participating in the program are asked to email stellarrobotics@gmail.com.
The FIRST Robotics Competition requires students to design, build, and program a 120-pound robot in six weeks to perform prescribed tasks.
Chantal DeYoe noted some of the benefits of the FIRST program, saying that it spurs student interest in STEM and gives students confidence to pursue college and careers they may otherwise not even consider. She also said, “It’s such a community-oriented program because it takes that corporate sponsorship to help make it happen.”
Although their current primary focus is establishing a program geared towards high school students, she said that they are considering forming feeder programs to generate interest in FIRST among the younger grade levels.
To learn more about the FIRST program, DeYoe encourages people to attend the Ohio State Championship FRC Event on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Thurgood Marshall High School, 4447 Hoover Avenue, Dayton. There is no cost to attend. Further information about the program may be found by visiting the website.
“When we looked at the map of teams for FIRST, there’s a big gap in the Mansfield and Richland County area. If a student wanted to participate on a team, they’d have to drive over an hour and that’s just not feasible,” Chantal DeYoe said.
