Robotics club raises money, interest from community
<p>During a competitive demonstration, a robot operated by club participants scores points by placing rings onto a structure made of PVC pipes.</p>
<p>Nicholas Dresen daringly comes within striking distance of the fanged robot aptly named "The Snake".</p> <p> </p>
<p>Madison Henderson was one of many youngsters who turned out to get a close-up peek of robots in action.</p>
RONAN – The season might have wound to a close for the defending world champion Ronan SD30 robotics team, but that doesn’t mean that their creations are gathering dust.
To the contrary, the club put their action-packed pastime on full display for the community to see at their annual fundraiser held at Ronan High School last Friday night. The event featured a dinner, raffle, and silent auction, and of course, plenty of robot exhibitions that captured the imagination of supporters young and old.
“The community has always been behind the program,” said Ronan teacher Jesse Gray, who founded the club six years ago.
While the world championship that the program captured in 2012 would appear to be the club’s crowning achievement to many, Gray seems to take the most pride in the difference that robotics have made in the lives of several of the club’s participants, upholding that the program is vital for nurturing student interest in subjects like engineering and math. Gray hopes that events like Friday’s will help to not only raise money, but also generate excitement to attract future members.
“There are other things out there that can be just as competitive as some athletics,” Gray said of the intellectually stimulating competition.
“It’s work, but it’s fun too,” Gray added.
Not surprisingly, that world title has proven to be a valuable recruiting tool, as well.
“After they hit worlds, then it kind of opened up everybody’s eyes to robotics,” said freshman Fisher Shima, whose older brother was a member of the championship squad.
Tyler Sassaman, a junior, has been around to witness the program’s surge in popularity firsthand.
“It’s exploded,” the grizzled veteran said of the club’s membership, which now exceeds 20 students. “We started out with just eight people.”
Savannah Funk-Fisher, the club’s only senior, has also been with the program since its beginnings and is bound for Bozeman in the fall, where she will study mechatronics at Montana State Univeristy. Funk-Fisher said that her involvement with the robotics team played a large role in putting her on the path to college.
“Mr. Gray is a great mentor. I don’t think I’d be going to MSU without his influence,” Funk-Fisher said, adding that she might not be going to college at all had the club not fostered her interest in mechanics and engineering all these years.
Funk-Fisher’s experience with the club has been one of no regrets, and her advice to the young, aspiring roboteers who filled the gymnasium last Friday can be summed up in three words: “Go for it.”