Chairman's Award Team 3309 Print Close

2016 Team 3309

Team Number

3309

Team Name, Corporate/University Sponsors

The Boeing Company / Hamrock / Disneyland Resort / Raytheon / WillMann / First American Title / RoboTerra / SerraLaser / SoCal Devs / VXB Bearings / Hyundai Motors / North County Glass / SmartJars / The Stump Family & ServiteHigh School

Briefly describe the impact of the FIRST program on team participants with special emphasis on the 2015/2016year and the preceding two to five years

"3309 gave me a directionshowing me how fulfilling helping others can be." Michael Stump '15 100% GraduateHigh School 95% pursue STEM careers Over 1 million dollars in merit scholarships Interns at Google, Twitch,Facebook, Twitter, and Boeing 40% mentor or volunteer with FIRST Five of the Top Ten GPAs of the Servite Class of2015 on 3309 A WFFA A Dean's List Finalist Three SoCal Regional Robotics Forum Scholarships Servite receivedDisney Dreamers Endure Grant

Describe the impact of the FIRST program on your community with special emphasis on the 2015/2016 year andthe preceding two to five years

"Friarbots brought magic to our students the students' smiles and excitement told the whole story of their visit." MaryFedak, Vice Principal, Our Lady Queen of Angels Over 40 demos in three years 15,000 reached Her Servant'sKitchen 528 Hours & 3,000 meals Isaiah House Three years: 300 socks & 150 blankets Middle School Events 5 Schools yearly 500 students impacted each season Middle School Workshops 150 students/three years Summer Camp 450 students/three years

Team's innovative or creative method to spread the FIRST message

"3309 inspires teams with unique robot designs and software tools that are always beautiful and intuitive" Jon Stokes,OCR Planning Committee CoChair Friarbots Forum, FLL Info Night, Feature Film Night: 400 impacted ChampsSocial 10 Teams invited Social Media 5,326 Engaged OC Register, OC Catholic, Huntington Independent andServite Legenda 60,000 reached Servite TV Segments 1,200 Engaged Team Handbook Auto translator & 200Copies

Describe examples of how your team members act as role models and inspire other FIRST team members toemulate

"In every situation that I have asked for student representatives of FIRST, I have been exceedingly proud of the qualityof studentsMembers of 3309 are dedicated, responsible, knowledgeable and a wonderful representation ofparticipants." Eileen Kahn, FIRST Senior Mentor 3309's awardwinning structure of student Presidents, VicePresidents, and Directors prepares them for leadership roles in their future. Five OC teams have taken on this structureas their own.

Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FRC teams

"Team 3309 gave us the push to get our momentum going." Matthew Crane, Captain of Team 4999 Friarbots havehelped start 3 teams by gathering mentors, guiding their leadership structure, inviting them to demonstrations, andworking at 3309's facility. Team 4913 The Huskyteers Team 4997 The Golden Machine Team 4999 MomentumRobotics

Describe the team's initiatives to help start or form other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, & FTC)

"Team 3309 continues to amaze as they grow into the team other teams strive to be likethey epitomize FIRSTRobotics. By reaching the younger generation through FLL and VEX programs, the team is guiding them to become thenext leaders and doers. Team 3309 is an inspiration to all of us." Rick Sisk, FIRST SoCal Sr. Mentor Team 3309helped form: 5 FLL Teams through: Demonstrations An information event Oneonone mentorship Team 3309 isstarting 5 FLL Jr. Teams with an elementary school

Describe the team's initiatives on assisting other FIRST teams (including Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC) with progressingthrough the FIRST program

"3309 connects us to some resources not available at our school and is inspiring our students to work harder to matchthe charisma and motivation of their students" Eric Gever, Mentor, Team 4276 Team 3309 has assisted 28 FIRSTteams in five years with its open house policy: 22 FRC Teams through: facility tours breakout workshops assistanceat events. 5 FLL Teams with weekly mentorship 1 FTC Team with facility tours and assistance at events

Describe how your team works with other FIRST teams to serve as mentors to younger or less experienced FIRSTteams (includes Jr.FLL, FLL, FTC, & FRC teams)

"With their connections to sponsors and extensive outreach, collaborating with 3309 to spread STEM has definitelyimproved the impact we've made in OC. " Chetana Piravi, Dean's List Finalist, Team 3476 The Orange CountyRobotics Alliance (OCRA) exists to give 14 FRC teams opportunities to learn from each other. At the OC Workshops,organized by 3309 and 4276, six OCRA came to share their knowledge. Through OCRA, Friarbots increase theirimpact on teams such as I^4 and Momentum Robotics.

Describe your Corporate/University Sponsors

"Hamrock Inc. remains involved by supporting the Friarbots' enthusiasm to make FIRST loud." Mr. Mason HamrockEmployee/3309 Mentor Hamrock: 6 years/Fabrication & Mentors Servite: 6 years/ Location & 50k a year Boeing: 5Years Regional Fee & Monetary Donations C17 & Two SoCal Facilities Raytheon: 3 Years/Monetary LeadersRehab Robot S. Korea: 3 Years/Fabrication & Monetary Disney: 1 Year/ Half of Regional Fee RoboTerra: 1Year/Global Impact Grant

Describe the strength of your partnership with your sponsors with special emphasis on the 2015/2016 year and thepreceding two to five years

"Boeing is a team, just like you guys" Dr. John Tracy, Boeing CTO Alumni Families: Fundraiser Events for the pastthree years: End of the Year Banquet $30,000 Christmas Party $30,000 Kickoff Breakfast $3,000 Boeing: 5Seasons Regional Registration Fee & $15,000 Each Year Internships for Alumni 3 Mentors totaling 15,000 hours Hamrock: 7 seasons/Supplies & Machining Raytheon: 3 seasons/Monetary Donations Servite: 6 seasons/$50,000 ayear & Robotics Director

Describe how your team would explain what FIRST is to someone who has never heard of it

FIRST Robotics is an international organization inspiring the next generation of leaders that will be paving the waytowards the solutions of the world's biggest issues. Because of the students' ability to visualize their ambitions and theirconfidence to pursue them, they have strong inclinations to be the problem solvers society needs. This inspiration issparked by challenging students to design machines with their peers in the spirit of the current year's competition.

Briefly describe other matters of interest to the FIRST judges, if any

"Team 3309 has a hunger for FIRST. They're determined to elevate the importance of STEM within Servite and drivento spread FIRST." Mary Carr, OCR Volunteer Coordinator Taught Robotics Merit Badge Started 2 Girls VEX Teams Volunteered @ Chezy Champs & Fall Classic events MentorMaps Matches teams with mentors based on locationand need OC Regional App Provides part requests, queuing, rankings, and announcements VEX Scout App Enables all teams access to data

Team Captain/Student Representative that has doublechecked this submission.

Megan Guttieri

Essay

Six years ago, a small group of students working out of a tiny garage started building the foundation for Servite HighSchool's newly launched engineering curriculum. Today, Team 3309, the Friarbots, are the driving force behindServite's evolution from a sportsfocused school to the home of a fullfledged STEM program at the heart of campus.

Through success in competition and service to the community, the Friarbots achieved the cultural shift needed tosecure a $50,000 annual commitment from Servite to fund a full time robotics program director and new fabricationfacilities to put robotics on par with the school's sports programs. This cultural shift at Servite has started to spreadboth of Servite's allgirl sister schools, Rosary and Cornelia Connelly, have launched robotics programs, withConnelly's program operating out of the Friarbots' headquarters. And, for the first time, Connelly is making a computerprogramming class available to all students.

On top of building a culture of STEM at Servite, students of Team 3309 have spent over 11,000 hours and reached28,000 people in 2015 alone through outreach events, social activities, educational programs and softwareapplications in order to bring more people into the FIRST community.

A major effort by the Friarbots is a web application called MentorMaps.net, an online network of FIRST/VEX teams andmentors looking to connect with one another. Registered mentors input areas of interest and teams create a "Mentor

Profile" detailing the type of mentor that can benefit them the most. The site matches teams with mentors near thembased on this compatibility. So far, MentorMaps has 141 total signups comprised of 80 FRC/FLL/FTC/VEX teams and61 mentors; representation extends beyond the United States to Australia, Canada, and Chile. MentorMaps connectedone Friarbot alumnus to Team 973, The Greybots, where he started mentoring his freshman year in college. Stories likethis demonstrate that the potential for MentorMaps is boundlessthe team's goal is to develop MentorMaps into a largescale program that becomes commonplace among teams and mentors around the world.

Impressed with Team 3309's work on MentorMaps, the Orange County Regional (OCR) Planning Committee adoptedthe Friarbots' plan to develop a new iOS/Android application that modernizes the team experience at the event. Withthe app, teams will make part requests, then submit them to Pit Admin to be reviewed and forwarded to other teams viaphone notifications. The app will also feature practice field signups, a live match schedule, and notifications for matchqueuing. Anticipating success at the OCR, the Friarbots aspire to spread the app to more regionals in the future.

The Friarbots' efforts to develop these tools are a reflection of the team's many initiatives to promote interest in STEM. In2012, the Friarbots conceived and cofounded the Orange County Robotics Alliance (OCRA) with Team 3476. Today,OCRA is thriving, with 14 FRC teams working together to host events that foster and strengthen robotics' presence inOrange County. For the past two years, OCRA has hosted an official FRC Kickoff event at Servite's sister school,Cornelia Connelly, with a complete competition field available that gives 25 teams a venue to interact and discuss thenew game at the start of build season. Feeding off this momentum, Team 3309 and Team 3476 were asked to be partof the effort to pioneer a relationship with Disneyland Parks. When Disneyland HQ hosted an informational meetingabout the FIRST Robotics Competition for their employees, both teams were part of this effort to recruit mentors. Thisrelationship will serve to benefit all FIRST teams, all FIRST Regionals, and FIRST as a whole.

Last year, the Friarbots founded the Friarbots Forum (F^2), an educational event series aimed at connecting highschool students with technology industry leaders. The inaugural F^2 last May featured Boeing CTO Dr. John Tracy. 200Students from eight FRC Teams enjoyed an inspiring interactive session with Dr. Tracy who shared his experiences asa leader in engineering to give them insight into pursuing a STEM career. After the presentation, teams participated ina scrimmage, giving students the chance to interact with one another on a social level outside of the competition.

Building personal connections between students and robotics teams builds a stronger voice for FIRST in thecommunity. This was the focus of the Friarbot's Feature Film Night. After popcorn and movies, many of the attendeesasked when the next Friarbots event would be. Soon thereafter, Team 3309 hosted the second annual OCRA GrandEncounter (OCRAGE) at Connelly. Five OCRA teams participated in fun activities such as FIRST Jeopardy, Humans v.Humans Recycle Rush, and a marshmallow structure building contest to help build relationships across teams. TheFriarbots brought this philosophy to the FIRST World Championship where they hosted a Welcome Reception, invitingten other FRC teams to forge relationships that span state borders. From the World Championships in St. Louis tobeach parties in California, the Friarbots are always working to build a stronger, closerknit FIRST community no matterwhere they are.

Community outreach continues to be another important initiative for the Friarbots. In the past year alone, Team 3309organized opportunities at 17 outreach events targeted towards spreading FIRST's message to the community.

Essay page 2

This movement starts with young people. In 2015, the Friarbots developed a FIRST LEGO League promotional tool Six Steps to FIRST LEGO League Success. The team then organized a FIRST LEGO League information nightfeaturing FIRST Senior Mentor, Rick Sisk to present the program to 20 families and two middle school principals. Inaddition, the Friarbots organized FIRST Robotics presentations at four middle schools for over 560 students. Finally,the Friarbots have organized an annual fiveweek robotics summer camp for 150 middle school students for the lastthree years where students learn Arduino programming to control a small LEGO car they designed and built at thecamp.

In addition to youth outreach, the Friarbots have planned and executed a wide range of other outreach events. In 2013and 2015, Team 3309 organized and ran demonstration scrimmages of Ultimate Ascent and Recycle Rush for over6,000 employees at two separate SoCal Boeing facilities. During Boeing's Engineering Week, the Friarbotsrepresented FIRST in front of 2,000 Boeing employees. In 2013 and 2014, the Friarbots organized a FIRST Roboticsprogram at the Boeing C17 Open House for over 2,100 families. Similarly, the team promoted FIRST Robotics atGoogle Los Angeles and the California Science Center for an estimated 400 people. Additionally, Team 3309represented FIRST at the Renesas Devcon Conference in Anaheim and the SoCal Maker Faire, reaching out to over4,500 innovators. Finally, the team participated in three other community events that introduced an estimated 1,050children, retired engineers, parents, and other engineering firms to FIRST. By giving FIRST Robotics a voice in schools,the community, and some of the world's largest technology companies, the Friarbots have successfully createdpartnerships that empower STEM education.

The Friarbots' culture of service to the community goes beyond just technology oriented outreach. One example is theFriarbots' weekly attendance at Her Servant's Kitchen, Servite High School's soup kitchen. With over 3,000 meals

served, the team believes making a difference does not have to be attached to STEM, and this belief has drivenmembers to volunteer 528 hours total to the community's homeless.

The Friarbots use technology across all media to make FIRST loud. In total, 5,326 people on social media haveengaged with the Friarbots through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Robotics update segmentsare shown to over 1,200 students and faculty through Servite High School's weekly announcement series: Servite TV.Over the past three years, the Friarbots have been recognized in the OC Register, OC Catholic, HuntingtonIndependent, and Servite Legenda to reach over 60,000 people.

Team 3309's' efforts have not only positively impacted the community, but also the members of our team. 100% ofFriarbots graduates have gone on to pursue a higher education, and 95% of team alumni have gone on to major inengineering or computer science at colleges such as UCI, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Purdue, and Cal Poly SLO. Overthe past four years, Friarbots' alumni have been collectively offered over a million dollars in meritbased scholarshipsand grants. And they are giving back to FIRST, with 40% of alumni mentoring FIRST teams and volunteering at eventsduring their time in college.

The opportunities for the Friarbots are growing exponentially. With the addition of the Friarbots Engineering Academy,the students of Servite will be able to take an approved engineering course that fulfills University of Californiarequirements, creating a new emphasis for a traditionally athleticsfocused school. Servite, Connelly, and Rosary HighSchools have all recognized the commitment it takes to be a part of Team 3309 by providing student participants with aVarsity Letter, putting the robotics program on the same level as their sports programs.

This team is focused on making a meaningful difference in the lives of students, high school robotics teams, andmembers of the Southern California community to fulfill the mission of FIRST. Changing culture doesn't happenovernight, but Team 3309 will always endeavor to make a tremendous impact on the people around them.

2016 Team 3309

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2016 Team 3309