After facing a period of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FIRST Robotics registered student organization has successfully revitalized itself, rebuilding a solid foundation for continued growth and success.
The RSO offers a range of opportunities, such as building robots and bringing those robots to competitions against other universities. It is one of the many RSOs that promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the Big Rapids area.
This RSO is connected to the College of Engineering Technology. Their core values are special interests, volunteerism and civic engagement. Students get a chance to apply these values by learning about the robotic industry, developing mentoring skills and providing support to the local community.
Mechanical engineering technology senior Kyle Hickmott, the club’s president, strived to bring the club back after it shut down.
“This is the second iteration of the RSO,” Hickmott said. “The RSO was going strong for years until 2020 when the club essentially disbanded. Once I got to Ferris in the fall of 2022, I found out that Ferris had a First Robotics Club. I reached out and was able to get into contact with professor Nathan Leatherman, and from there we were able to get the club restarted.”
At the end of September, FIRST Robotics hosted an off-season event called Roboday. The event had a total of 23 teams attend and compete. The teams in the competition had to build their robots on their own. Having the opportunity to build and use robots in competitions is why Hickmott believes more students should join FIRST Robotics.
“I think more students should join because being a part of FIRST is a pretty good time, the events are huge and the robots are cool and very interesting,” Hickmott said. “Being a part of FIRST will get you access to a lot of volunteering opportunities, and no matter what your interest is, there is something in FIRST that would speak to that interest.”
Manufacturing engineering freshman Kate Kohl joined the club, and it has inspired her to pursue a career in the engineering field. She said joining FIRST Robotics helped both technical and practical.
“I joined FIRST Robotics because I was interested in learning more engineering skills, like CAD design, programming and electrical work,” Kohl said. “I also enjoy how every year there’s a completely new competition with new challenges.”
Some RSO members were involved in FIRST Robotics competitions in high school or middle school. The club has various volunteer opportunities that allow students to get engaged at lower education levels. Many of the students involved mentor for FIRST Robotics teams at the high school, middle school and even elementary school level. Students can also assist teams with specific skills such as programming and design.
The club’s vice president, psychology junior Mackenzie Clayton, was in robotics when she was in high school and loved it. Clayton has enjoyed taking the opportunity to be a volunteer at events.
“As a former FRC member in high school, it’s really cool to be on the other side of things,” Clayton said. “Helping other teams by mentoring and hosting FRC events has been a lot of fun.”
During the upcoming semester, FIRST Robotics will be hosting an FRC district competition from March 27 to the 29th, where they will be building the competition field and running the high school competition between 40 teams from across Michigan. They will also be taking a trip to Saginaw Valley State University to participate in a state finalist competition, where they will compete for their spot at the FIRST World Competition, which is held in Houston.