Editorial on Championship Chairman's Winner

[falconmaster]

Here is an editorial about team 842, Falcon Robotics and their Championship Chairman's win in Atlanta

A salute to perseverance

The Arizona Republic
Apr. 22, 2008 12:00 AM

Our Dream. The American Dream. It is that over-the-top, don't-hold-me-back belief that anything's possible.

What a country it built.

And what an example of the power of that promise we got from the Carl Hayden High School's Falcon Robotics team. It bested teams from all over the world to take the Robotics International Chairman's Award over the weekend.

This wasn't just an award for the fastest robot. This prize is based on a body of work aimed at getting other kids excited about science. The team's efforts included community activities and mentoring.

A lot will be said about how the team includes students from some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in Phoenix. That's because a lot of people don't expect much from poor kids.

But the dream says what matters is hard work. Perseverance. Love of learning.

What matters is believing that you can succeed.

That's our dream. The American Dream.

It's a big thing. A very big thing.

Sometimes, people forget that. Sometimes, they get cynical. When the dream needs a shot of vitality, it's up to the youths to give it a kick in the pants.

These kids did just that. Carl Hayden High was runner-up twice before in efforts to win this international honor. The kids persevered. They worked hard. They brought it home.

Of course, there was a robot involved. It is named "Virginia's Dream," and this is something that matters, too. It was named after Virginia Gutierrez. Last year, she had a 4.2 GPA and a private scholarship to study nursing at Arizona State University. Then, she got stopped for a traffic violation. She was deported, and her dream of becoming a nurse in Arizona evaporated.

Some people think that's fine. They are OK blaming a child for the problems created by adults. Some people say hard work and academic achievement can't erase the fact that a child is living here illegally. It doesn't matter to them if it was adults, not the child, who made the decision about where to live.

The award-winning team from Carl Hayden High disagrees.

Its members want our dream to be as big as a child's hope for the future.

And they are right.

Congratulations to a remarkable group of kids who apparently understand a lot more than just how to make a robot do amazing things.

There were many positive and many negative postings following this editorial and the story by Betty Reid in the AZ Republic seen below

Carl Hayden wins international robotics title

60 comments by Betty Reid - Apr. 21, 2008 12:51 PM
The Arizona Republic

Carl Hayden High School's Falcon Robotics team won the top prize in the international robotics championship over the weekend in Atlanta.

The 42-member high school team includes students from some of the lowest income neighborhoods in Phoenix.

Twenty-two students went to Atlanta and members of the community will be at Sky Harbor International Airport tonight to honor them when they return.

The teens have competed this school year with a robot they built and named "Virginia's Dream." It was named for a girl that team members knew before she was deported after it was discovered her family was in Arizona illegally.

"I think this is a great thing for Arizona to be recognized as leaders in science and technology at the high school level," said Fredi Lajvardi, Falcon Robotics team coach. "There were 26 countries present and Carl Hayden High School from Phoenix, Arizona was No. 1."

The Carl Hayden team bested 550 teams from around the world.

The west Phoenix team won the Robotics International Chairman's Award. Carl Hayden High twice was runner-up for the international honor.

The Chairman's Award goes beyond the team's winning races at competitions. It is focused on the team's effort to change the culture of science from that of stodgy science to one that is fun and exciting.

To reach that point, Carl Hayden's team reached into the community. They created an underwater competition in Chandler, created the FIRST Lego middle school tournament, appeared in film clips and mentored elementary-age students interested in joining high school teams.

The trip to Atlanta also involved the team showing judges its robot.

Fourteen-year-old Eduardo Fernandez, a member of the Falcon Robotics team, got teary-eyed when they won.

"It's like winning the World Series in a science competition," he said. "It's exciting and the feeling is incredible."

Fernandez started working robotics as a middle school student at Isaac Middle School.

"I love to build," Fernandez said.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne on Monday said the importance of this honor goes beyond the championship.

Science and technology jobs will be abundant in the future, Horne said and competitions like this can draw students to scientific careers.

"The future of the country depends on developing well trained scientists," Horne said. "This is a tremendous achievement on the part of the Carl Hayden High School and the students and teachers directly involved."

The Chairman's Award brings with it a $10,000 scholarship.

Previous winners have gone to the White House and met the President.

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

here is he Betty Reid Story link
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...ayden0421.html

here is the editorial link
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...22tue2-22.html

[dtengineering]

A great statement on a great achievement.

I always tell my students that the Chairman's is the simplest award to win. Not the easiest... but the simplest. You just need to work harder than everyone else, and keep it up longer than everyone else. It doesn't take a brilliant design, a good alliance pick, or any of the other factors that come into play for winning the competition. It just takes a committment to do good things, and the drive to keep that up day in and day out, year after year.

While there is no magic behind winning a Chairmans, what the team accomplishes en route truly is.

Congratulations on a well deserved award, and some well-deserved recognition.

Jason

[Akash Rastogi]

Looking through your team's achievements it is good to know that the Chairman's award went to an amazing team. I have even looked through previous years' teams and IMHO they don't come close to what you guys have done. I am seriously proud of you guys.

[falconmaster]

That is very similar to what I tell people. "You can't control what your alliances do or who you are paired with. You can have the best robot and still lose. But in Chairman's you control what you do and how much and for the most part you get what you put in." You are right, its been a great journey. We have had the added issue of immigration to "poke us in the eye" In FIRST, however, we get judged and treated by what we do, not our pedigree.

[GaryVoshol]

I just realized that I haven't yet congratulated the team for the accomplishment of winning the Chairmans. After your submission was posted, I remember offering my best wishes when you got to present it in Atlanta. It's truly amazing the amount of work your team does. I was glad to see the team up there on stage.

[RoboMom]

Thanks for posting this great editorial and for putting your submission earlier in the white papers. Congratulations!

[DCA Fan]

I don't recall if I have said this on Chief Delphi yet, but congratulations. I've been following your team for the last 3 years and use it as one of the markers for West Coast teams to strive for. You are truly deserving of this honor.