April 5, 2019
Pictured: The ABAC Upward Bound Robotics Team included (l-r): Brandon Hall, Arturo Contreras, Ivan Zapote, Edwin Zapote, Cierra Boney, Felicity Graham, Taylor Lawson, Naqirah Garcia, Zenae Martin, and Shantavia Ross. (not pictured): Melodie Ramirez and Isaiah Richardson)
TIFTON—A group of students recently participated in a competition in Albany as the first robotics team for the Upward Bound Program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The results were quite astounding.
The students competed at the FIRST PCH Proctor and Gamble District Qualifier. They received awards for District Event Winner, Highest Rookie Seed Award, and National Instruments Rookie Inspiration Award.
The team also competed at the District Qualifier at Columbus State University where the students made it to the quarter finals. The students are now going to compete at the FRC Peachtree State Championship in Emerson. Currently, the team is ranked 20th out of 85 teams in Georgia.
Upward Bound at ABAC is a federally funded pre-college program serving high school students from the counties of Atkinson, Ben Hill, Berrien, Colquitt, Cook, Irwin, Tift, and Turner.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Robotics’ mission is to “inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.”
Benjamin Vieth, Associate Director of the Classic Upward Bound Program at ABAC, discovered this program when researching STEM projects for the Upward Bound program.
“I wanted an activity where my students could develop STEM skills while also boosting their confidence in their skills,” Vieth said. “We’ve only been doing robotics since January. We’ve had some early success despite being rookies.”
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