The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
ELECTRIC HORNETS TEAM HEADED TO CHAMPIONSHIP
Kirtland advances to Ohio FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship
The Kirtland Electric Hornets are taking their robots to the state championship.
After hosting the Northeast Ohio FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament in January at Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus, the Electric Hornets FTC 8120 team is advancing to the Ohio FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship.
Coach Donna Rudder, a teacher from Mentor High School, chose to get involved with the Kirtland team with a little nudging from her husband, Michael Rudder, a volunteer for the team.
“I’m a Kirtland resident, and the reason I’m here is because of my husband,” she said. “He kind of brought the program here. He’s a Rockwell Automation engineer, and he heard about the program, and his company is very supportive. So, then he got started here — first the middle school program and then the high school program.
“I kinda came on board because they needed the help of another teacher to help with administrative things like permission slips, etc. But he oversees the working with the children and robots.”
Rudder noted that it’s
"Those kinds of communication skills are just one of the important hacks they learn. They also learn things like professionalism and learning how to respect their teammates and work with other teams."
— Donna Rudder, coach
more than robotics for her and her students as she appreciates watching the students develop outside of the team. Rudder feels being on this team allows the students to learn useful tools for later in life.
“One of the things they have to do is present as a group in front of judges, which is new to some of them,” she said. “Those kinds of communication skills are just one of the important hacks they learn. They also learn things like professionalism and learning how to respect their teammates and work with other teams.”
Junior Mark Svigel spoke about how his love of robotics grew from the team.
“I did FLL in middle school, which is the Lego version of what we do, and I really enjoyed building and designing the robot,” Mark said. “It’s a great program for learning problem-solving skills. As the lead builder on the team, I really again enjoy the experience and it’s such a great creative outlet for me.”
Mark also noted that when it comes to the competition, he believes the Hornets have a chance to make it farther than ever this year. He has been pushing himself and the team more by encouraging his teammates to build more, giving them responsibility, and being there to help when needed.
“It’s really about watching my team grow,” Mark said.
Rudder was excited to hear about her team advancing but stands firm that it’s about more than winning or losing.
“A lot of it is working together as a team and collaboration — all of the great skills you want students to have,” she said.
The Kirtland Electric Hornets are set to compete March 13-14 at Loveland High School near Cincinnati. A win could give them a chance at the national level.