TECHNOLOGY
72
Trends In Education
“The Pit” is a robot factory behind South Fork High School where SPAM
students are hard at work on the final adjustments on their robot. From left
are Lily Pawlak, mentor Todd Porter Sr., Abygail Stiekman and Taylor Isles.
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology
FIRST competition is a mixture of invention, show-andtell
and networking with major companies and universities
recruiting in the background.
“It’s a great event for the kids,” says Rich Brooks, a contract
engineer at Sikorsky and president of SPAM. “Colleges are
looking to recruit kids. Corporations are looking for internships.
SPAM is such a great opportunity for the kids. They
learn how to take math, the sciences and a budget and put it
into real-life problem solving. I have never seen a student yet
who has not gone on to college.”
“It’s not sci-fi, it’s real to be able to build something that
works and can complete the mission, and it is real to be able
to work with machines to manipulate iron and steel, ” says
Austin Jones, a 14-year-old first-year SPAM member who is
home-schooled. “It allows me to work with my friends and
electronics.” Jones has been hanging around SPAM teams and
their creations since he was 5.
“I’ve always wanted to do something with robotics,” says
SPAM member Miguel Flores, a sophomore at Jensen Beach
High School. “It’s opened many doors. I am doing software
and programming. I have met a lot of nice people and
learned a lot from the mentors.”
Daniel Fischman, a sophomore at South Fork, says SPAM
“opened a lot of gates for me. Without this program I would
never have been able to get into engineering programs. This
experience with the different teachers and mentors, you will
never find that anywhere else.”
This year’s Frisbee-tossing robot is ready for the trip to St.
Louis, but the elves of Team SPAM continued to tweak the
machine into the night right up to the deadline, in a magical,
quiet little workshop nestled in the woods of western
Martin County.
/www.chsChampionsForChildren.org