by Josh Weimer, assistant online editor
In less than two weeks, the Tiger Robotics team will be competing in the annual BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) regional competition. Due to a change in leadership, preparation has not been simple.
“Mr. Taylor, who had been our sponsor for 15 years, retired to pursue a PhD,” new head sponsor Patrick Powell said. “After many tears and puppy-dog eyes, the kids convinced me to take over the head coach position. Mr. Taylor left big shoes to fill, and there have been lots of growing pains, but everything has been coming together in a big way.”
Taylor’s past presence in the Robotics program was quite strong, and his absence has proved challenging for some members of the team.
“I will miss his leadership and knowledge because it kept the team focused and together. His kindness and experience will be missed,” Booth Leader and senior Matthew Barondeau said.
Despite the challenges presented from this loss, the Robotics team is still optimistic about the upcoming competition.
“It’s been difficult without Mr. Taylor and his help, but we’ve been trying to get everything together these past 6 weeks, and hopefully our work will pay off at regional competition, ” BEST Marketing Manager and senior Ellen Li said.
Every year, the competition has a different theme. The teams are then tasked with designing and producing a robot that must accomplish certain tasks, with points allotted for each task completed.
“This year, we are tasked with gathering various materials from a mock-up abandoned mine,” Chief Engineer and junior Tianshu Huang said. “We came up with a forklift to pick up a minecart.”
Even though it hasn’t been an easy year for the Tiger Robotics team, Powell has high hopes for their upcoming competition.
“I am really excited to see the kids compete,” Powell said. “This is my first year as head sponsor, and I am blown away by the hard work and dedication the kids have put forth.”
The BEST Competition will take place on October 24th at 8am – 4pm at Rudder High school in Bryan. Photos provided by Tiger Robotics.
