Our Team
Our team consists of 38 active members, one coach, several mentors, and amazing parents who all support our team to the fullest. The structure of our team is split into four groups:
Build
Build is the biggest part of our team, where we build the robot itself. Once the design team creates a blueprint, the build section follows it to create the robot that will perform during the competition.
Design
The design section of the team is our starting point of every competition season. They are in charge of researching potential design components of our robot and drafting blueprints and CAD models for build to reference. As the season progresses, they monitor the progress of the robot and update its design as needed.
Programming
Our programming section creates the scripts for the robot to run. They are the software engineers, though they also collaborate with the build members to make the electrical engineering work.
Marketing
Marketing does everything that the other parts don’t. They make fundraisers, find sponsors, advertise, recruit, make pins, stickers, t-shirts, and much more. Whatever they can do to fill in and make the team run smoother.
Meet The Team
Mason Cardiff
Mr. Cardiff is the cornerstone of our team as well as our club sponsor.
Abigail Finn
12th grade - Project Manager
I am a creative person with a passion for making videos as well as keeping things organized. I've been a part of this team since my freshman year, and it has given me the opportunity to learn many new skills.
Tulip Juarez
12th grade - Marketing Lead
I’m an artistic and generally friendly person that helps in any way that they can. If I’m not sure how to do something, I’m good at learning as I go. I have been on the team since freshman year.
Benjamin Kelemen
12th grade - Programming Lead
I am the main driver and help teach others how to program and drive. I am interested in pursuing a degree in computer science, and eventually I want to become a software developer.
Lawrence Fellbaum
12th grade - Design Lead
I have been in robotics for 4+ years. I started out as a CAD designer before moving onto a managerial position in design. This year, I have been heading the use of our new CNC machine.
Joshua Hamilton
12th grade - Notebook Lead
I am the go-to for crunching numbers and different designs when it comes to passive and active manipulators such as arms and claws. I hold teamwork to a high standard and I place it as a a high priority of mine, as a failing team dynamic causes a failing team.
Steven Hernandez
12th grade - Build Lead
I have been doing robotics for more than 4 years and have always been interested in the building aspect when contributing. I try to do my best to lead everyone. This past year, I have been teaching the underclassmen so the school will have a team that I can entrust the club to.
Our History
Our team began in 2014 with the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). The Jaegernauts, our team name, have competed in FRC every year since. Starting in 2018, we also joined the BEST competition and have been competing strongly since then. The Jaegernauts were founded by Mr. Richard Muenich, who got the team started and was its leader. In 2022, leadership was transferred to Mr. Mason Cardiff, who has been leading the team to this day.
When we began, the space we were given for a workshop was hardly a 10' by 10' area. Additionally, we shared the space not only with the electrical breaker and other maintenance, but also the janitor's office and the Fencing club's storage. Mr. Muenich also used his classroom, which doubled as a science lab, for Robotics work. Though cramped for space, we had a strong start, and our original team managed to pull together robots from string and wood.
Though the team had so little space, Robotics was still wildly popular, quickly becoming known as one of the biggest clubs on campus. From this popularity, we secured more school funding along with multiple fundraisers. We used that to make their current space safer and got more power tools to upgrade the quality of our robots.
As time passed, though, the hype around Robotics died as members graduated. Our number slipped lower and lower, and the funding stopped coming as quickly. Things were looking bleak, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
The seniors of 2020, which made up the majority of the team, knew they needed to find more members before they graduated. So as the incoming freshmen came looking for clubs, they launched an intense marketing effort, and recruited new members that would become a tight-knit group of great engineers, designers, builders, programmers, and marketers. The seniors passed on all they knew to us, the freshmen, and used their last year at MECHS to cultivate the next generation.
These new members continued the seniors' legacy, and Mr. Muenich supported us. He secured us a 3D printer and more tool replacements, and guided the team in creating roles and managing ourselves until we were a well-oiled machine.
As we grew into our roles on the team, administration changed. Two years after the class of 2020 graduated, Mr. Muenich left the school for other opportunities, though he still visited on occasion. The new technology teacher, Mr. Cardiff, took over, and his new style of leadership brought us to even bigger heights, securing better tools, including a CNC machine, mentorship, and new experiences for the members.
The first year Mr. Cardiff took over, the Jaegernauts received a trophy for 4th place in the BEST competition. This award would have let us go to the state level competition, which we eagerly began to prep for. However, fatedidn't let us off so easily, and only 2 days later, a message came from the coordinators of BEST, saying there had been a score miscalculation, and they would not be going to state after all. This disheartened all of us greatly, but we forged onward through the FIRST competition.
It was about that time that we realized history was repeating itself: our numbers were dwindling as the members once again aged out, and there were only 12 members left, all members of the class of 2024. So, recruitment plans began. At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, we plastered posters all over the walls and went to classes personally to advertise. When we hosted our first meeting with the interested members, we got more than we could ever have hoped for. The team had gained 26 people, making a total of 38 members!
We, the class of 2024, threw ourselves into mentoring the new recruits as our predecessors had done for us, and even now we're setting things up for future generations. As we go into competition once more, all we can say is: Go Jaegernauts!