Since the program began nearly two decades ago, the San Marino High School Titanium Robotics has continuously made strides with the help from the school’s alums and mentors.
And for the first time in more than 20 years, Titanium Robotics traveled to Houston to compete against teams from around the world at the FIRST Championship.
“This is really a spectacular opportunity for our students to have the chance to participate on a global stage,” Scott Barton, faculty adviser of Titanium Robotics, said in a statement. “It is very gratifying to see all their hard work and dedication recognized at this level. I’m proud of them.”
The team qualified for the Texas trip after an impressive showing among 60 groups competing at the East Bay Regional in Berkeley.
Titanium Robotics includes students from San Marino and neighboring cities like Pasadena. More than 40 students, mentors, teachers and parents have helped the team throughout the year in multiple competitions.
Titanium Robotics team members are between 14 to 18 years old and spend hours building, designing and programming the robot while keeping up with their regular schoolwork.
The team’s co-presidents manage engineering and business. The business teammates create marketing campaigns, design an annual report and write grants and press releases to generate support and awareness of the robotics team.
Makenna Wong is a senior who began participating in Titanium Robotics before entering high school. Wong is the program’s business president and said she is “super pumped” for the global competition in Houston.
“We’ve never won a regional, so it was definitely an emotional moment for not only the students, but Mr. Barton and some of the alumni who were mentors,” Wong said.
Wong, who is heading to USC in the fall, is looking forward to networking and connecting with others on the global stage — knowledge and experience that would help future Titanium members to thrive and succeed.
“This is the perfect ending to my robotics career,” Wong said. “No one would have thought that we would have qualified in the last week of regionals in our first robotics competition. I’m most excited to make final memories.”
Gavin Morris, also a senior at San Marino High, has been part of the team for all four high school years and is excited for one more trip with the team following their triumph in Berkeley.
“It was super fun,” said Morris of the state competition. “I think it was one of the hardest regionals this year. Lots of great competitions and super tough matches.”
Morris highlighted the different caliber of teams competing at the world championship, but like Wong, he is excited for the opportunity to learn and connect with others.
“I want to not only compete as well as we can, but I also want to learn from the other teams as much as possible and take that back and pass it on so that we can hopefully go back next year,” Morris said.
Morris and Wong both expressed their appreciation to mentors who coached the team throughout the years. Many mentors were former students and members of the robotics teams.
A dedicated booster of the team for many years, Bob French is the parent of San Marino High School alumni and is considered one of the team’s most loyal fans. French, a Boeing Company employee, has volunteered to drive a truck with the robot and all the gear 1,500 miles to the competition.
Held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, the event is organized by FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The competition began April 17 and concludes April 19.
Staff from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories and other high-profile businesses will be there as mentors and to promote STEAM careers. Elementary and middle school teams are also participating in the FIRST events in Houston.
More than 600 teams of high school students are putting their customized, original robot designs to the test against teams from countries including Taiwan, Brazil, Canada and Turkey.
First published in the April 18 issue of the San Marino Tribune
