During the New York Tech Valley Regional robotics competition, the Townsend Harris Steel Hawks won the FIRST Impact Award, qualifying for the FIRST Championships in Houston, Texas.
At each regional or district event, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) presents one team with the FIRST Impact Award, “the most prestigious award at FIRST, [which] honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST.” In particular, the award honors teams who are actively engaged in “transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.”
“I was super stoked, not necessarily for myself but more for the team as a whole,” said Steel Hawks President Isaac Wong. “So many of my teammates poured so much time into teaching at elementary schools across the world, sacrificing their summers and studying time.”
Head Coach and science teacher Joel Heitman shared similar sentiments. He said, “[The team] has worked tirelessly to connect to our community and create so many stories through STEAM, [..] it really is special for them to be recognized for their work.” He said that the award is not just about excelling at robotics but about making a real difference in communities outside of the school.
Isaac described the projects the team runs that help make this difference. He pointed to Project SHIFT (Steel Hawks Inspiring FIRST Teams), which began in 2023. Through this, he said, the Steel Hawks have reached out to younger and underserved communities to assist them in exploring STEM. This exposes them to the world of robotics and engineering through activities and online coding resources like Scratch and TinkerCAD.
The team also runs Project Guyana. “We’ve enabled the creation of the first FIRST Lego League team in Guyana,” Isaac said, “giving an opportunity to children who otherwise would not have [one]. And most importantly, we make sure that all of our programs, from FRC to running toy drives, are fun for all who participate.”
“This is a team award. Every person on the team plays a role in the ability of the team to win such a prestigious award,” Mr. Heitman said.
The team also won this award, formerly known as the Chairman’s Award, in 2020; however, due to COVID-19, the team was unable to attend the FIRST Championships that year. Receiving the FIRST Impact Award automatically qualifies the team for the FIRST Championships, the final competition of the robotics season.
The championships will be held from April 16-19 in Houston, Texas. In preparation for this competition, the team created a GoFundMe, which has currently raised over $6,000, in order to lower the cost for members that plan to attend.
Steel Hawks member Adora Uddin said, “our goal [is to raise $15,000]. We’ve also done boba shifts… [to] raise money for the team so that we can buy better parts for our robot.”
Isaac said, “We are pushing our GoFundMe and other donation platforms as a mean of making this trip more affordable and accessible for our students, many of whom come from low-income backgrounds.”
The FIRST Championships is “an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for our community as we prepare young people for the future.” It’s a chance for teams across the world to gather after their experiences in their local events and compete in similar events at the international level.
“Seeing all the hard work [the team has] put into our outreach projects pay off is truly amazing. I’m incredibly proud of this team,” said Isaac.
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