Making a Difference:

Daddies, Daughters, and FIRST Robotics

by Robin Bonner

Amie, Gary, and FIRST
Fathers and daughters enjoy a special relationship. When little girls grow up and leave home, they surely are missed, although their dads might not talk much about it. These fathers cope with their loss in various ways—some intentional and some not. My husband Gary’s story is one for the textbooks.

Gary and Amie were no different than many other dads and daughters—they were always close—but they also shared another bond: Both had a scientific mind, with a decided engineering bent. Amie was a senior at her all-girls high school, when the principal called her and her best friend to the office. “What have we done?” she wondered. Sister Karen quickly set her at ease: “I would like to begin a robotics team here at The Mount, and I want you two to organize and lead it.”

Before long, “The Firebirds” were established, and Amie invited Gary to help (the team would rely on mentor engineers). For Gary this proved to be a match made in heaven. Thus Amie and Gary had their initiation into FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics at the same time.

Mount St. Joseph Academy’s first robot, Peppermint Patty, didn’t win any awards. But it did inspire a number of girls to later major in engineering in college. (One hundred percent of Mount graduates go on to college, and more than 40% major in science and engineering fields.) Amie graduated that year (2000) and attended MIT in the fall, to study aerospace engineering.

College and the Future
Amie promptly joined MIT’s FIRST Robotics Club, which mentored two local high schools. She and her classmates pulled down a heavy course load but somehow also managed to help high-school students build a robot in 6 weeks and then attend several meets to compete against other schools. The team participated in regional meets and even made it to nationals a few times, held at various venues such as Disney World and the Houston Astrodome.

Amie continued with FIRST throughout her college career, ultimately as an upperclassman co-chairing the club with classmate Todd Wesley. She chauffeured local students to the meetings in an MIT van. At times, Amie and Todd even orchestrated travel arrangements for themselves and the rest of the team to go to regional meets. It was a big commitment.

Not surprisingly, in senior year Amie and Todd began to date. After graduation, both took jobs in sunny Southern California, they continued to see each other, and in 2007 they were married. After college, though, they avoided volunteering as FIRST robotics mentors—they had burned themselves out! They’re now engineers with Lockheed Martin, they’ve bought a house, they’re landscaping their desert property, and they’re attending graduate school. In short, they’ve moved on and are doing anything but FIRST robotics.

Gary, The Firebirds, and FIRST
So, what about Gary? Well, even after Amie graduated from high school, following The Firebirds’ first robotics season, Gary stayed on to help with the new robotics program. In fact, while Amie mentored the MIT team, she and Gary would meet at national competitions, mentoring competing teams, which was a great thrill for them.

And Gary’s still with The Firebirds. It’s been 10 years now—the formal build/compete season extending from January through April, with informal activities year round. January through April are the most intense months for FIRST teams. On the first Saturday of January—The Kick-Off—teams across the country receive The Game and The Kit. At that point, the 6-week build season is under way. Next come the official regional and national competitions. From May on, however, The Firebirds enjoy other related activites, including the Pennsylvania Robot Challange held at Tunkhannock High School (near Scranton) on Mother’s Day weekend and the bonfire that Mount advisor Bob Foell hosts at his place on Memorial Day weekend. Add to that Wissahickon High School’s (Ambler) November Ramp Riot and the Duel on the Delaware, sponsored by several Delaware groups in October. It’s quite a busy year, really, and Gary opts out of a number of the unofficial activities.

Firebird fundraising continues all year. The sport comes with a hefty price tag: $6,000 for the kit and entrance to one regional meet, and up to an extra $5,000 for materials, tools, and supplies for the prototype and full-size robot. Additional regional meets cost $4,000 (plus $700 shipping) per team to attend, with entrance to the national competition at $5,000. All efforts lead toward that 4- to 5-month time slot, when the official season—building and competing—happens.

Gary’s leadership role developed and solidified during that first year. Generally, the team counts on him to coordinate the building, contribute to programming and strategy, attend all official competitions, and troubleshoot mechanical problems as they come up. Only one other non-faculty mentor, Bob Gerngross, has been involved since the team’s inception. Together, Gary and Bob (and other, newer mentors) teach the girls how to use tools and how to think about building a robot.

Because of such mentoring dedication, and the growth of outside support, The Firebirds have stayed strong, and even grown. It is now the longest running all-female FIRST Robotics team in the United States, with 44 members, 16 mentors, a parents organization, an alumnae association, and 4 sponsors. And, their season doesn’t stop at building and competing: Outreach activities during the year—aside from unofficial competitions—include team members and robot “marching” in a local 4th of July parade, visiting a children’s hospital and a senior residences, “walking” the Philadelphia Heart Walk (where the team raised $1,500 for charity). They've partnered with Girl Scouts of America and have even sponsored a team in Ghana to begin their own robotics program. In fact, at the Philadelphia regional meet this year, they won the prestigious Chairman’s Award for these activities and more.

Each year, although the team loses seniors and gains freshman, Firebird traditions continue. Members pass along cumulative team lore at the now traditional Annual Team Dinner. This began as a chicken corn chowder supper that I brought to the 10 or so girls and mentors as the build-season days got longer that first year, but it has since grown to a potluck affair attended by about 50 parents, team members, and mentors.

Why?
Amie left The Mount 9 years ago. Daughter Sarah attended the same high school, but she had different interests. She briefly checked out the Firebirds, but decided building robots wasn’t her “thing.” And it’s been 5 years since Sarah graduated. So what keeps Gary there? Could it be the 30 or so teenaged “daughters” he finds there each year, whom he can teach to design and build things, something he loved to do with his own girls? Even when Amie and Sarah were little, Gary set up and carried out science experiments and building projects with them (a solar hot-dog cooker comes to mind). It was quality time for all of them. And as a family, we had a membership at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute Science Museum, where, in a workshop, Amie had her first taste of robot building at age 10. (She’s since gone on to build airplanes.)

As I’m writing, we’re driving home from Miami, Florida, where we just attended the wedding of the son of a family friend. We made a road trip out of it, visiting relatives along the way. And there’s one other reason we’re driving—we’re heading toward Atlanta, Georgia, where daughter Sarah and I will drop off Gary, to meet the rest of The Mount robotics team at this year’s national competition. The wedding conveniently missed regional and national meets. After all, it’s still robotics season. . . .

So, why is Gary still involved? He’s sitting right beside me. Let’s ask him. “Because I got stuck,” he says simply, with a smile. I don’t buy that. “To keep myself occupied while my wife’s working.” Smart guy. I don’t buy that, either. (I’ve had more free time this season than ever before, but Gary shows no signs of slowing down.) “Because they’d have to find someone to replace me, which I don’t see happening anytime soon.” Hmm, he’s really yanking my chain.

Gary’s next answer is closer to the truth: “Because it’s rewarding and interesting. It’s fun to work with the girls—to see many of them coming from backgrounds where girls don’t do this sort of thing—they’ve never even held a tool. Through FIRST, and specifically The Firebirds, they become proficient at using power tools and confident enough to instruct the younger members of the team. They also become familiar with the design process, and they can see applications of some of the physics and math they’ve studied in school. They learn to work with mechanical and electrical systems, sensors, and software.”

“They also see that science can be fun. We create a ‘fun’ environment for the team—whether it’s in our workshop or at a meet. We’ve had some girls who weren’t considering a career in science go on to major in science or engineering in college,” Gary concludes. These girls are 14 to 18 years old—a good age for this transition—and Gary enjoys being instrumental in their awareness of science. Graduating seniors have written him special “thank-you” notes for his patience, good humor, and nonjudgmental approach. He has taught them that science is safe and fun, and they can do it, blossoming in the process. It’s how Gary raised our girls.

Then why does he do it year after year, you ask? “For the same reasons,” he says. “I find it interesting and challenging each year—the game (its objective) and the systems always change. There’s always something new to figure out and someone new to teach it to.”

For a quiet guy, Gary has found his empty-nesting niche. His wife would prefer that it weren’t so all-encompassing, but the time he spends underscores his dedication. He’s as committed to teaching these schoolgirls about science and engineering as he was to teaching his own daughters when they were home. And who can argue with that?