Notre Dame Robotics Team Celebrates Victory, Starts Fundraising for Tournament – My Twin Tiers.com

ELMIRA, N.Y. (18 NEWS) - Notre Dame High School's Robotics team, The Electric Fire, won the Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in Rochester last weekend.

"We went there to go have some fun and we ended up winning so it was pretty intense," Electric Fire coach Robert Stanley said. "To be honest when I found out we won finals I laid down and cried for a couple minutes," junior Macie Barone said.

"It was like mind blowing my team was just like hugging and screaming and jumping like I don't think any of us could've said anything articulate at that point," senior Kayle Watson said. "We were just so excited."

Now the team is looking to raise money for the FIRST World's Robotics Competition in St. Louis next month.

"We had 49 teams we were competing against," Stanley said. "Now there's 1,400 teams that we're going to be looking at when we get to St. Louis."

The National Science Foundation found women comprise 50 percent of the U.S. workforce but just 29 percent of STEM workers. Being a part of the robotics team has inspired many of these young women to take interest in science, technology, engineering and math.

"It's really helped out because I've been thinking of maybe doing a STEM program," Barone said. "It's really just opened my eyes the whole world of engineering and mechanical stuff."

"There's a team sponsored by Corning actually where I'm going to college so I might mentor there or help out or just do something," senior Katie Bohart said.

It's even enabled some students to make connections.

"I made a lot of friends at the competition, people who don't even live here I am now connected with because of robotics," sophomore Aylash McCloe said.

"I just feel like they could come from somewhere really far away now because of robotics we're together and talking and friends and stuff," sophomore Jacqueline Chen said.

No matter what happens in Missouri, these students will cherish the experience. "To make it to worlds it's incredible I wouldn't trade it for anything," Barone said. "Just like have fun and enjoy being there cause that's really what it's about," Watson said. "It's going to be three or four days of intense competition but it should be pretty awesome," Stanley said.

Stanley said all teams and their members qualify to apply for about $50 million in college scholarships just for participating in FIRST Robotics Competitions. If you'd like to donate follow this link to the Go-Fund-Me-Page.

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Notre Dame Robotics Team Celebrates Victory, Starts Fundraising for Tournament - My Twin Tiers.com