Robotics Clubs Compete Regionally With Community Support

[Right to left] Briggs & Stratton engineers Jonathan Eads and Jason Myers discuss with students Chang Chi and Diego Rivetti plans for installing a mechanical arm on their robot.

[Right to left] Briggs & Stratton engineers Jonathan Eads and Jason Myers discuss with students Chang Chi and Diego Rivetti plans for installing a mechanical arm on their robot.

The Iron Mules—the Poplar Bluff High School Robotics Club—placed eighth in the draper division of the sixth annual FIRST Tech Challenge hosted by Southeast Missouri State University on Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Representing the Iron Mules were sophomores Jessica Foster and Paul Sanders, and juniors Chang Chi, Christian Cmehil-Warn, Diontay Cochran, Tiffany Friday and Diego Rivetti. Teacher sponsors of the club are Patti McCoy and Kathy Miller of the PBHS science department, along with social studies instructor Mike Sowatzke.

Competition fees and equipment this year were subsidized by the generosity of the Academic Assistance Group and community members, including the Cmehil-Warn family and Sharon Riley. Leading up to the competition, Briggs & Stratton Corporation, which has supported the district’s efforts to compete in robotics since the beginning last school year, sent two engineers—Jonathan Eads and Jason Myers—to consult with students.

Briggs & Stratton engineers [from left] Jason Myers and Jonathan Eads take time out of their schedule to visit PBHS and consult with the Robotics Club as students Chang Chi, Diego Rivetti and Bryan Nguyen build their robot for the competition.

Briggs & Stratton engineers [from left] Jason Myers and Jonathan Eads take time out of their schedule to visit PBHS and consult with the Robotics Club as students Chang Chi, Diego Rivetti and Bryan Nguyen build their robot for the competition.

“Robotics is a big part of what we do at the plant, so to see the school system promoting that type of technology, getting kids interested, is very exciting,” said Mark Melloy, Briggs & Stratton plant manager. “We want to do what we can to promote the growth of the program, because ultimately those kids may become engineers for us some day.”

This past November, the elementary team – the RoboMules and the junior high team – the M.U.L.E.S. (Mighty United Lego Engineering Students) combined forces to vie in the FIRST Lego League Robotics Competition also in Cape, bringing home the Core Values award. To help the students prepare, Briggs & Stratton sponsored their participation in Lego Robotics Camp at the University of Missouri in Columbia over the summer.