Members of the Ferris FIRST Robotics registered student organization (RSO) assist robotics teams at the middle and elementary schools in Big Rapids and help those teams to host competitions. The robots made by the middle and elementary school teams are constructed out of Legos.
According to the RSO’s president, Ferris welding technology sophomore Victoria Funke, the RSO’s goal is to spread the message of FIRST: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
Though Funke got into the world of robotics when she joined the Lego league at her elementary school, she’s been in the RSO for two years and this has been her first year as president.
As president, Funke loves having the chance to lead the RSO in a better direction and to help the RSO expand on campus and make the campus more aware of what FIRST does.
FIRST plans to attend a collegiate competition next year that will be hosted at Ferris.
At general meetings, the members discuss how the elementary and middle school teams are doing throughout the building season, talk about different events on campus that effect the members and sometimes companies come to visit the students.
“My favorite aspect of the RSO is that we reach out to younger robotics teams and we get a lot of college students involved,” Ferris mechanical engineering sophomore Kyler Drumhiler said.
Drumhiler has been a member for two years and is the community chair for the RSO. As part of the position, Drumhiler promotes what the FIRST does on campus.
With 20 members, Ferris welding and manufacturing engineering junior Mike Michley is in his first year with FIRST, finding that his favorite part of the RSO is getting to teach peers and high school students.
“I love seeing the light switch on in someone’s eyes when they finally understand something they were struggling with that I was able to help them with,” Michley said.
Go to Orgsync and search Ferris Robotics FIRST for more information.
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