Pleasant Valley FTC Students Advance To Worlds

By: Ishika

FIRST Tech Challenge, or more commonly known as FTC, is a robotics program offered to grades 7-12. In this program, teams are able to build, design, and program custom robots while competing around the state to garner points and increase their team rankings. Alongside the technical aspects of the program, students are expected to build a portfolio displaying various forms of outreach promoting STEM, connecting with companies, and using STEM to create a positive impact around their community. This season, the world of FIRST robotics has returned to a sense of normalcy in contrast to the remote competitions that occurred in the previous year. FIRST participants have returned to attending in-person competitions, with the most recent one being the Iowa State Championships on February 18. Here, 48 teams competed head-on with their robots and their portfolio, maintaining the FIRST motto of Gracious Professionalism. From the competition, three teams advanced to the Worlds competition in Houston, Texas. Two of those teams were from Bettendorf, Iowa!

Despite this FIRST season coming to an end, FTC students continue to immerse themselves in the world of FIRST through the upcoming championship. Nishita Gudipati, a member of team RoboMinions, describes her initial experience within the FTC community as “intimidating and overwhelming at first '' but “a lifestyle” she enjoyed adapting to. Gudipati also has described FIRST as a program in which she grew not only in STEM, but as an individual, “I was able to connect with so many people from around the district and the world! It allowed me to learn from those beyond our community”. Gudipati is excited to travel alongside her team and compete at the World's Championship on the week of April 20.