Aiming to encourage future generations to develop skills in science
and technology within a collaborative and supportive environment,
Canon Solutions America-sponsored FIRST Robotics Team #3932 Dirty
Mechanics will mark its 12th year in operation this fall.
Located in Boca Raton, Florida, the team comprises students from
a dozen schools within the South Florida region who work as one
team to compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Volunteer mentors,
such as Canon Solutions America Principal Engineer, Dave Ferguson,
work tirelessly to give back to their community by offering
technical guidance regarding running a robotics team, developing
soft skills, increasing self-confidence, and improving
communications and leadership capabilities.
Dirty Mechanics was established in 2011 as a team of students
from only one school who competed exclusively during seasonal
competitions. Since then, the team’s reputation has helped it
expand across multiple area high schools and even includes
home-schooled students. Eleven volunteer mentors, who possess
engineering and business backgrounds, guide the team that proudly
boasts a two-to-one student-mentor ratio and a one-to-one ratio of
boys to girls in all positions on the team.The 2023-24 team will
start this fall in preparation for a campaign culminating with the
FIRST Championship, scheduled for April 17-20, 2024. However,
before that level of competition, the students and mentors will
work closely together to help establish and develop skills in
science, engineering, and technology while learning to work in a
team environment—gaining knowledge that can benefit students far
beyond a robotics competition.
“One of the benefits of this program is teaching soft skills,
such as problem-solving and dealing with difficult situations,”
said Ferguson, who helps lead the team that operates out of St.
Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. “Many towns offer athletic programs,
which is good for health and confidence, but there are not many
STEM programs that allow for avenues where students can go for
skill development, camaraderie, adrenaline, and competition, except
for FIRST Robotics.”
Team participation includes much more than designing and
building a robot for competition. Members conduct grassroots
fundraising for this large undertaking before seeing their creation
compete on a prestigious stage. The journey helps improve technical
and social skills for all those involved.
Last spring, Dirty Mechanics crafted a four-foot robot dubbed
“Sergeant Sparky,” which they used to compete in the FIRST
Championship in Houston, Texas, against more than 600 teams in
front of more than 50,000 spectators. Additionally, Team #179,
Children of the Swamp, based in South Florida, receives support
from Canon Solutions America to help fund travel, supplies, and
more. The 16-time regional winning team is primarily comprised of
students from Suncoast Community High School and Inlet Groves
Community High School. However, it also has several students from
other high schools throughout Palm Beach County. Team mentors
include engineers from Belcan, Lockheed Martin, EDF, Pratt Whitney,
and retirees.
The team sees extensive commitments made by both students and
mentors, who run workshops and provide tutorials for skills such as
programming, soldering, wiring, and instructing on the proper use
of power tools. Children of the Swamp has made community engagement
a core component of its mission, participating in food drives that
have collected more than 1,400 pounds. The group’s technical skills
have also assisted the Boca Raton Rotary Club in configuring Wi-Fi
routers and extenders for local students in need of bringing the
internet to communities without it.
“As mentors, we are compelled to give back, and our thought
process is, ‘If we don’t do it, who will?’ We want to keep going,
teaching practical skills and developing positive attributes that
will help the students in their lives,” Ferguson said. “If we can
give them direction and confidence in who they are growing into, it
is a gratifying sight for us volunteers.”Team members have parlayed
their experiences with Dirty Mechanics into success in both
collegiate and professional settings. The team boasts a 100 percent
high school graduation rate, with 97 percent continuing their
education at the college level and 90 percent of the group enrolled
in STEM fields. Alums have secured jobs in tech leaders like Canon,
and 15 alum members have returned to serve in mentor roles, passing
on the skills they learned both on the technical side and from a
business operations standpoint.
“Besides STEM, the team focuses on business, marketing, and
entrepreneurship. If the students want to become business leaders
and owners, they need to know how to do it,” Ferguson said. “We
focus on the business side while simultaneously troubleshooting and
solving problems individually and as a group, which can even be
more challenging. It is amazing to see students return to the
program after achieving professional success, now looking to help
future generations excel in science and technology.”The
opportunities for both learning—and teaching—have afforded students
such as team co-captain Rebecca Levy, a senior at Donna Klein
Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, the ability to engage in a community
outside of a traditional classroom and work with peers beyond her
school. It also has offered the chance to take what she has learned
and pay it forward. “For the past four years, the team has helped
build my confidence,” Levy said. “Starting with my sophomore year,
I served as one of the safety captains, and now, as a senior, I’m
one of the co-captains, and this experience provided leadership
opportunities that I would not have been able to find
elsewhere.”
Levy has used the team’s offseason to hone her skills, focusing
on robot and computer-engine design while mentoring the
undergraduates to ensure a smooth transition once she and her
fellow seniors graduate. “I want to take what I learn and help pass
it on so that once I leave, the team will still have the skills,”
she said.
Levy, who has already started amassing college credits by taking
summer classes through Stanford, started a FIRST LEGO League
program for middle schoolers to introduce the next generation to
robotics. “When I was in middle school, the team was just me and my
friend, who is on the [Dirty Mechanics] team now, so when we
graduated, the team was gone. We were inspired by Mr. Ferguson and
created another robotics team, but [wanted to] have it be more of a
community team than just our small school. We had students from
other middle schools, and we brought these kids together to have
the opportunities we did. We just wanted to allow them to see if
they like engineering and what the team can provide. Not everyone
knows about FIRST, and it’s not easy to find mentors, so it’s nice
to give students the chance to be part of a team.”
For more information on FIRST, visit firstinspires.org
About Canon Solutions America, Inc.Canon Solutions
America, Inc. provides industry leading enterprise, production, and
large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional
professional service offerings. Canon Solutions America, Inc. helps
companies of all sizes discover ways to improve sustainability,
increase efficiency, and control costs in conjunction with high
volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and
document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon
U.S.A., Inc., Canon Solutions America, Inc. is headquartered in
Melville, NY and has sales and service locations across the U.S.
For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit
csa.canon.com.
- FIRST Robotics Team #3932 Dirty Mechanics
- Canon Solutions America-sponsored FIRST Robotics Team
Brian Bohl
Canon Solutions America
5164088214
bbohl@cusa.canon.com
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