Congrats to Team 1325 GTA West

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I'm a former team member of 1325, now at UWaterloo (ECE) and I spent some time with the team at the Waterloo regional. It was so exhilarating to see the students working hard on the robot.

Graydon Robotics was an amazing experience me. I think it's the mentors and the students' attitude to the project. I want to recognize the longtime teacher sponsor Mr. Gould for his continued dedication to the team. He's calm, thoughtful and believes you can do it. He lets the students try, make mistakes and only steps in when needed. He doesn't tell the team what to do, but he's not afraid to work long hours with you if you need it.

1325 also has a new teacher sponsor Mr. Balcita. He's new to the school but got right into the project. I talked with him a bit and it's clear he gets the value of FIRST. The students really look up to him.

What I like most about 1325 is how the team is run. It's students that touch the robot. Students in the pits, drilling, cutting, programming, testing, coaching, designing, managing and teaching new students. The mentors are always there but encourage the students to make it their own.

It's a huge pride to the team when they come out on the field with the bot because they know they built it. I think it's this pride that makes team 1325 what it is. It's this knowledge that they've put their sweat and tears into this machine and it's really freaking cool.

Congratulations Team 1325 for another awesome job!