Turtle Tek, a local FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team, was recently selected as one of 25 teams to advance to the Wisconsin State Championship, which will be held on March 11th at the Kress Center at UW-Green Bay.

Turtle Tek is a first year team comprised of eight high school students from the Stateline area. This team of homeschooled and Beloit Memorial students formed a team sponsored by Hendrick’s CareerTek starting this summer. The team consists of Jordan Shultz, Rodrigo Delgado, and Xavier Miller from Beloit Memorial High School; and Isaac Kubatzke, Loretta Woodard, Katherine Woodard, Carl Hahn, and Garrett Schneider, all of whom are homeschooled students. Students come from Beloit and Clinton, Wis., and Poplar Grove and Winnebago, Ill.

Turtle Tek recently competed at their first qualifier, The Patriot Games, held in New Berlin on January 21st. They were awarded the Arm, Inc. Control Award for their programming. This award is given to the team that demonstrates innovative thinking to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, improving mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results. They were also selected as the Inspire Award 3rd place winner. The Inspire Award is given to the team that best embodies the ‘challenge’ of the FIRST Tech Challenge program and is the highest award. The team that receives this award is a strong ambassador for FIRST programs and a role model FIRST team. They are a top contender for many other judged awards and are a gracious competitor. Turtle Tek considers it an incredible honor to be recognized as an Inspire Award winner at their very first tournament.

FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Robots are powered by Android technology and students code using Java-based programming. By participating in FIRST, students gain confidence to explore the innovation process while learning valuable science, engineering, technology, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life.

Turtle Tek is sponsored by Hendrick’s CareerTek, DeWALT, Wisconsin DPI Robotics Grant, and DEKA. The team is incredibly grateful to these companies for their support, in particular to Hendrick’s CareerTek for the practice space and funding for the season. The team would also like to thank their mentors Bob Abele, Erik Rozolis, Nathan Wilder, and Ted Wilder for all the time they have given to help the team learn. The team is coached by Heather and Mike Schneider.

Turtle Tek will next compete at The Frozen Frenzy on Feb. 18 in St. Francis, Wis. For more information or to help sponsor Turtle Tek, please email [email protected].

 
 
 
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