FIRST Washington's Change the World Fundraiser on Wednesday, May 15th was a celebration of the FIRST Launch season. The evening started with demonstrations from students. The Dragon's, team 1595, from St. George's represented our FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) program that spans 9th-12th grade. An all-girls team, the RoboGirls, sponsored by Girl Scouts represented our FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) group of 7th-12th graders. The Neon Supernovas represented our FLL (FIRST LEGO League) program that includes students in grades 4-8. Project-based, hands-on FIRST programs introduce students to coding, programming, and engineering in an environment where students work collaboratively to solve a yearly robotics challenge.
After a short introduction from our president, Erin McCallum, the floor was given to Dr. Charlotte Lamp. Dr. Lamp is the mother of Spokane native astronaut Anne McClain, currently serving on the International Space Station. Dr. Lamp talked about Anne's dream of becoming an astronaut at an very young age and the path she followed to make that dream come true. Lisa White, Director of Express and after school programs for Spokane Public Schools, followed up by moderating a conversation between three FIRST alumni, Kyle Brooker, Kathryn Waychoff and Adam Werries. The three former FRC students, all currently working at Blue Origin, are excited to be part of the next phase of space travel through reusable launch vehicles. They each contribute part of their success to their experiences on their FRC teams and noted how well it prepared them for their future.
For more information about our programs, please visit: firstwa.org.
