Veterans Memorial High School engineering instructors, Mrs. Veronica Burgoa and Mr. Jose Luis Sanchez, had the honor of attending the 2020 FIRST Founder’s Reception & FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff Event in New Hampshire held on January 3rd and 4th. The Founder’s Reception was an exclusive event held at the residence of Mr. Dean Kamen the founder of the FIRST organization.
Mr. Kamen is an American engineer, inventor, and businessperson, and is known for his creations such as the Segway, the Slingshot water purifier, the Luke prosthetic arm, and the iBot stair climbing wheelchair. Mr. Kamen is also recognized for working alongside Dr. Woodie Flowers to form the non-profit organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).
FIRST is an international youth organization that operates the competitions FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), FIRST LEGO League (FLL), and FIRST Lego League Jr. (FLL Jr). The goal of the organization is to develop ways to inspire students and generate interest in the fields of engineering and technology. During this reception, various speakers including senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, from New Hampshire, spoke on the positive impact that FIRST competitions are having on today’s youth. Currently all Mission CISD elementary, middle, and high schools have robotics teams that participate in the FIRST competitions. Currently, VMHS has 10 teams competing in FTC and one team competing in FRC.
In addition to attending the Founder’s Reception, Mrs. Burgoa and Mr. Sanchez attended the official FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) kickoff event for the 2020 season, which took place at Southern University of New Hampshire. Getting invited to the FIRST Robotics headquarters gave the instructors the opportunity to collaborate and build partnerships with some of the top robotics programs from across the nation.