A few years ago, Richardson snagged gold in a national robotics competition called Skills USA. Now, the Richardson team has the chance to do it again.
Sophomores Morgan Chen and Darren Srivathanakul won first place in Mobile Robotics, and sophomores Truman Kohler-Katz and Grant Goldate won first place in Urban Search and Rescue. The two Richardson teams will advance to state in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 27th through the 29th.
“Morgan and Darren were surprised when they were told the playing field was from a previous year and nothing like they were expecting,” Max Morales, Robotics Magnet teacher and coach, said. “All teams had to completely redesign and build their robots with whatever tools they had. Morgan and Darren came prepared and designed a winning robot. It was truly great work.”
The Urban Search and Rescue segment of the Skills USA competition is internationally acclaimed. In the competition, students are given a scenario and a time limit, and they have to construct a fully-functional mobile robot. Past winners have described it as extremely difficult.
“The scenario is like after a hurricane or a nuclear wasteland,” Morales said.
Skills USA itself holds a broad variety of events, topics and opportunities. It is held annually, at the regional, state and national levels. Several colleges are present at the competitions.
“Skills USA’s mission is to empower its members to become world-class workers, leaders and responsible American citizens,” the mission statement on skillsusa.org said. “It provides quality education experiences for students in leadership, teamwork, citizenship and character development. It emphasizes total quality at work, high ethical standards, life-long education, and pride in the dignity of work.”
If the Richardson team places in the state competitions, they will advance to Nationals, where the winners have chances for college scholarships and even job offers.
“I am definitely confident in this year’s team,” Morales said. “These four young engineers persevered through their challenges and never gave up. We are proud to have them represent RHS and our Robotics program.”
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