The Academy of the Holy Cross' robotics team, the AHC Transformers, FRC Team #6584, has received a $5,000 NASA Program Growth grant for the 2017-2018 FIRST Robotics Competition season. Program Growth grants are offered to teams in their first two years of participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The team also received a grant last year.
To receive the grant, the team prepared a proposal that described the team and its goals for this year which included increasing the number of students actively engaged in the Robotics Team; acquiring additional corporate sponsors; being more active in our community with an emphasis on middle school girls in our local area; and, mentoring a rookie team.
Last year as a rookie team the AHC Transformers earned the "Rookie All-Star," "Rookie Inspiration" and "Highest Rookie Seed" awards. They have been already busy preparing for this year's FIRST season.
The NASA grant will be used to pay for participation in robotics competitions in Virginia and Maryland and to purchase parts for the 2018 robot. The grant allows funds from the team's corporate sponsors (Valboost, ATI Space, Clark Construction, Kat Goduco Photography, Close.io, and 1st Choice Collision) to be used to acquire new equipment, additional parts, and help the team reach out to girls interested in robotics in nearby schools.
The Academy of the Holy Cross is committed, as a strategic priority, to enhancing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum and related extracurricular activities. In addition to the robotics program, Holy Cross initiated the Project Lead the Way engineering curriculum this year with three sections of students.