Legislator Steven J. Flotteron recognized The Islip Girl Powered Robotics (GPR) team for qualifying to compete in the Long Island
Championship at Smithtown High School on February 11th. They enthusiastically shared the history of their project and its capabilities. The girls hope to advance and qualify to attend the Eastern Regional in Scranton, Pennsylvania in March.
The unique all girl GPR team is comprised of seven high school students, who were self-started and funded, have now expanded to become affiliated with the Islip School District. They recently participated in First Tech Challenge robotics competition, performing extremely well in the two qualifiers. They have earned several awards, including First Place Winning Alliance Captain, along with the Think Award at the Center Moriches Qualifier on Sunday, January 14th.
In the FIRST Tech Challenge, teams are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a
head-to-head alliance format. Students develop STEM skills and practice
engineering principles, while realizing the value of hard work, innovation, and
sharing ideas.
“It is inspiring to see
young people challenging themselves and reaching their goals,” said Legislator
Flotteron.
Legislator Flotteron (far right) congratulates members of the GPR team (left to right); Sophia Rubinson, Udithi Kothapalli, Shweta Karmakar, Grace Constantino, Darienne Rogers, Molly Breakstone and Olivia Berger along with their mentor, Dr. Brian Brachio.