Chairman's Award 2007

The Submission Executive Summary: Team Name: The Dragons Team 302 Sponsors: Lake Orion High School, DaimlerChrylser, Sterling Stamping Plant & Brose  Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants The students of Team 302 have had amazing experiences with FIRST Robotics. Each student learns skills such as time management, leadership, and cooperation. The students always try their best yet realize that the adult counterparts can offer different views. Many students have also found future careers from the program. In fact, two students have focused their education in CAD while many more have looked into engineering, a career that would have otherwise been disregarded without FIRST.  Examples of role model characteristics for other teams to emulate Since the creation of Team 302 in 1999, prototypes, team voting, and the willingness to help other teams have made the Dragons a team to emulate. Each work day begins with a meeting where the sub-teams discuss daily plans and ends with everyone gathering to discuss what was accomplished. Every student is faced with making decisions through a team vote for everything from prototypes to t-shirts. In true FIRST spirit, Team 302 assists anyone in need, whether they are a friend or competitor.  Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your team and community In the past year, the Dragons have made a huge impact on the community. The team has started and mentored LEGO League teams, held a free flu shot clinic, and given Thanksgiving baskets to the under-privileged. The students do a variety of tasks because Team 302 sees the community as a place to cherish and embrace. Perhaps this is why the students feel a need to constantly give back to the community for their support and have done an average of forty-four hours of community service per person.  Team’s innovative methods to spread the FIRST Team 302 has taken significant steps to spread FIRST. Several students started a LEGO League team at a local middle school while more mentored at a private school and a neighboring middle school. The robot travels to several middle and elementary schools in the area explaining the values of FIRST as well. These presentations encourage children to be involved in robotics. Team 302 also actively recruits women to join the team and expresses the need for women to be in the engineering workplace.  Describe the strength of your partnership Team 302 is lucky enough to have a lead sponsor, DaimlerChrysler, who is willing to help in any way possible. The mentors are always presenting both sides of an idea and often go out of their way to assist in the learning process. One mentor, Ken Dudek, helped significantly this year with the assistance of Oakland Community College and in teaching students on the team CNC machining. These students also shared their knowledge with Team 494 and Team 70.

 Describe the team’s communication methods and results The Dragon’s greatest asset is communication, allowing the team to work as a well oiled machine. Sub-team and design concept meetings enable everyone on the team to be aware of what is accomplished and what needs to be done each day. By having everyone on the same page, the team becomes more efficient and does not need to repeat itself. The team website and email list also allow everyone to stay well informed of upcoming events. There is never a time when someone is left in the dark on Team 302.  Other matters of interest to the FIRST judges This year Team 302 became a year round team. With the help of dedicated mentors, several students learned CNC machining. This enables the team to create more parts that would otherwise be sent out to be made. Also, the Dragons started a LEGO League team in August and mentored two more in September. Becoming an all year team was a difficult challenge with students in sports teams and jobs but each student did their best to take part in some event to help raise awareness about the team and FIRST.

Essay: Teamwork, curiosity, and a thirst for learning are driving forces behind Team 302. Like any team, the Dragons want to win. However, recruiting, spreading the FIRST message, and helping the community are high on the priority list in comparison to winning. The mentors realize that the students need guidance, but guidance is not to be overshadowed by the mentors wanting the students to succeed. This has often led to students doing the same task multiple times until it is correct. Team 302 is not just a group of people working together for a common goal, but a group of students and mentors that start off as strangers and quickly turn into family and lifelong friends. Spreading FIRST The youth is the future. If the youth is not educated and curious, where will that leave the world? The Dragons believe that it is important for everyone of all ages to be involved in FIRST. This year, several team members took it upon themselves to start a LEGO League team at a local middle school. Three team members mentored this team, while two more mentored at a nearby private school, and another at a middle school in a neighboring town. Much to the surprise of the students, mentoring was a learning experience. Teaching the students was a great feeling and also helped Team 302 students understand some things that mentors do. It gave a sense of purpose to each student mentor and sparked the imagination and creativity of every child involved while teaching important life lessons of teamwork, gracious professionalism, and responsibility. It may seem strange for the Dragons to focus on youth considering we are youth ourselves. But Team 302 is not composed of ordinary teenagers. Members consistently travel to the local middle and elementary schools to demonstrate the robot. This is not a show, but a lesson teaching the winning combination of friendship, simple machines in the real world, dedication,

gracious professionalism, and technology. These produce the astounding results of young minds working overtime, thinking of questions to ask about how to build a robot and interest for years to come. In fact, several students on the team joined because of this presentation at their former school. Each year an old robot is also presented at the freshman orientation. The amazement of the people attending these presentations, both young and old, is inspirational. Seeing their faces when the robot shoots across the floor is one of many reasons that the students of Team 302 continue to return each year for these presentations. Each demonstration makes a difference in the community and, perhaps, even changes the life of a child forever. The Thirst for Learning “What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end, there are no certain answers.” The students of Team 302 agree with Martina Horner, President of Radcliffe College. This is why the students of the team are always researching, asking questions, and creating challenges. Over the past year, several students had the opportunity to work with CNC machines. Compared to the machines in the school shop, the students were overwhelmed with what Oakland Community College had to offer. Knowing this was invaluable to any team, these students and the DaimlerChrysler mentor who was teaching could not keep this information a secret. Instead, two area robotics teams, the Martians Team 494, and More Martians Team 70, were contacted and the wealth of knowledge was shared with all who were willing to learn. A mentor from the Martians said, “Your team, by far, has done more for our team than any other team in the five years that we’ve been involved in FIRST.” The students of Team 302 test their designs before a final decision is made. Every idea is first presented and two to three prototypes are built. After, the mentors assist in the testing process. Pushing power, the time it takes for the robot to complete a task, and how much weight a metal can withstand are among the tests done. This data is recorded and is generally a large factor in the design of the robot. When the designs are put to the test it allows the students to see advantages and flaws that their concept may possess. This is a spark to the Dragon’s fire; enhancing the thinking process and encouraging out-of-the-box ideas to be pursued. High Standards and Success The Dragons believe that all students need to set standards and it is essential to meet these standards. The students need to do their best and put all of their effort into a task to be successful. Because so many students have been inspired to do well in their future, several take Advanced Placement classes and attend prominent universities. Part of the aspiration to do well comes from the encouragement of the team members and mentors. This not only brings the team closer, but gives each student a sense of pride when they do something they once thought was impossible. “The team always supports me. I’m getting a great education and the team has inspired me to do it,” says Neil Cooper, a senior taking two Advanced Placement classes. The

mentors and other students go out of their way to help each other with homework. It is likely that someone on the team has taken the class a student needs help in and can explain the topic in question. This builds the team bond making us more like a family each day. Team 302 has a high rate of seniors going into a field of engineering or technology. Over the past five years, nearly ninety percent of graduating seniors went into one of these fields, which, in our opinion, is the perfect amount. This creates diversity on the team, and not all students join because of the engineering and technology advantages. Some students join because of the public relations and business aspects, while others join in hopes of getting a foundation for the medical field. No matter what field a student plans to go into, all students are vastly different in their interests and these differences allow the team to function on the top level. Lending a Hand Each year Team 302 tries to help at least one team in a drastic way. In 2005 the Dragons assisted Team 1308 of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio. Their robot was suddenly not functioning and Team 302 sent half of their pit crew to help find the glitch. With teamwork and gracious professionalism, both teams joined together and fixed the problem. In return, when Team 1308 was unable to compete in the seeding matches on Good Friday after twelve noon, they trusted Team 302 to drive their robot. Again, in 2006, the Dragons found another team in need of help. Team 1941, the Fred D. Hurricanes, from Detroit, Michigan, qualified to go to the National Championship but due to a lack of funding was unable to attend. Knowing the feeling and importance of Atlanta, Team 302 jumped at the opportunity to help. Team 1941 was invited to Lake Orion High School to fix their robot with the assistance of Team 302 during a fix-it window and Team 302 also shared their travel bus to Atlanta with Team 1941. Aside from sharing the bus, part of the Dragon’s pit crew worked with 1941 during the entire Championship. This work consisted of teaching how to use tools, showing the advantages of certain mechanisms and components, and encouraging the team before each match. By the second day of competition both teams found themselves eating lunch together, laughing at jokes, and forging a relationship that has continued throughout the new season. This relationship has also led to the Hurricanes receiving funding from DaimlerChrysler, the Dragon’s leading sponsor. Team 302 has helped several teams with the small things such as attaining the right size bolts or sharing scouting information, but these small things can have a large impact. The mentors often speak of little life lessons that we will learn throughout the season and our lives. Treat others as you would want to be treated, almost helping someone when you can is the same as not helping at all, and, there is no better feeling than knowing your opponent is able to compete because you wanted the challenge of a fair match. These are just some examples of what the mentors speak of but after the first year on the team, students say these as well. Unfortunate Events

Due to the economy in Michigan, Team 302 experienced a cut in resources. For the first time, the team had to take a serious look at fundraising. The challenge was met with quickly generated ideas that were easily implemented. With the help of two local Kroger facilities, the students woke up early on weekends and asked the community for soda can donations. Team members also knocked on doors in their neighborhoods asking for donations. To broaden the efforts, some mentors suggested collecting ink cartridges and cell phones to turn in for extra money. Students also asked other teams to help with a fundraiser for safety glasses in which a portion of the profit from each pair bought was given to the team. In these fundraising efforts, the Dragon’s spread FIRST as people asked how to start teams at other schools, offered to mentor, and wished luck for the upcoming season. Team 302 has had many unfortunate events that have occurred throughout the past few years but the students and mentors always unite and rise to the occasion of a new challenge. Conclusion FIRST represents the technology and future leaders of the world. Team 302 is proud to say that we can be part of this future. The students of the Dragons are not only future engineers, doctors, or scientists, but also community workers, friends, and volunteers. These students have gone through trials and tribulations but have overcome their differences to become a family. Team 302 is unique with values of hard work, dedication, and community involvement. “We’re not a mega team but we make a huge impact on the community,” says sophomore Scott Watza. “This team taught me to be a better person.”

College Statistics University Attended

2002 2003 2004

2005

2006 2007 Total

University of Michigan Kettering University Michigan Technological University Ferris State University Michigan State University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University of Ohio Oakland University Western University Air Force Academy College For Creative Studies Full Sail University Miami University Oakland Community College University of Detroit Mercy Other/Working Before College

1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

4 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

3 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

10 6 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Total Senior Members

5

6

11

3

9

7

41

80%

83%

91% 100%

89%

86%

88%

Percentage of Students Focused on Engineering or Technology

Team 302 keeps a record of every graduating senior. These records contain where each student attended a college or university and the percentage of students focused on engineering, math, science, or technology related fields. Our goal is simple; to inspire students to go into these fields, but the task would be difficult without FIRST.

Accomplishments 2006 Detroit Regional: Quarter Finalist Great Lakes Regional: General Motors Industrial Design Award West Michigan Regional: Quarter Finalist & Autodesk Visualization Award 2005 Buckeye Regional: Semi Finalist Great Lakes Regional: Semi Finalist West Michigan Regional: Semi Finalist National Championship: Newton Division Quarter Finalist 2004 Great Lakes Regional: Quarter Finalist West Michigan Regional: Semi Finalist & Engineering Inspiration Award National Championship: Curie Division Semi Finalist 2003 Buckeye Regional: Semi Finalist Great Lakes Regional: Regional Champion National Championship: Newton Division Champion & National Semi Finalist 2002 Buckeye Regional: Finalist & Motorola Quality Award Great Lakes Regional: Semi Finalist & General Motors Industrial Design Award National Championship: Division Quarter Finalist OCCRA: Champion & All Girls Tournament This was also the first year a varsity letter was given to Lake Orion High School students for FIRST participation. 2001 West Michigan Regional: Regional Finalist National Championship: Newton Division Finalist

Team 302 in the Community

Students of Team 302 present previous robots at middle and elementary schools and explain mechanisms as interested students and teachers look on.

LEGO Team 3694 from Scripps Middle School is amazed at the results of their working robot. Also, a team picture with three high school mentors.

Students of LEGO teams 5202 and 527 use teamwork as an advantage as their mentors look on.

The Drive for Learning

Students had the opportunity to learn CNC Machining with the help of DaimlerChrysler and Oakland Community College.

Junior Matthew McCormick teaches students how to mill while Senior Matt Tucker teaches freshman Nick Hutchinson how to use the bandsaw for a prototype.

Students of Team 302 plan designs through Inventor and on parts such as the electronics platter.

Team 302 and FIRST

The Dragons assisted Team 1941 with transportation to Atlanta, in the Championship Pits, and later the head DaimlerChrysler mentor of Team 302 attained a sponsorship for 1941.

Team 302 stepped up and helped Team 1308 when their robot was down. Finding the solution was a complicated task that could not have been completed without teamwork.

Senior Drew Griffith took a trip to India before the 2006 season to explain the concepts and missions of FIRST to students.