The Great Neck South High School Rebel Robotics Team won two prestigious awards at FIRST regional competitions this season and earned a spot at the FIRST World Championship in Houston, TX in April.
South High Robotics Team #2638, known as “Rebel Robotics,” traveled to the Finger Lakes competition in Rochester from March 9–12. Their robot advanced in the competition but lost in the semi-final round. Team member Sophia Gal was named “Safety Star of the Day,” and the team was awarded the Entrepreneurship Award. This award celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and recognizes a team that has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage and achieve the team’s ongoing objectives.
Just over a week later, Rebel Robotics competed in the SBPLI Regional #1 competition at Hofstra University. Their robot advanced in the competition and lost in the final round of competition. Team member Sabrina DePaulis was named “Safety Star of the Day,” and the team was awarded the prestigious Chairman’s Award.
This is the fifth time that Rebel Robotics has received a regional Chairman’s Award. The Chairman’s Award is the most prestigious award in all of FIRST, as it “honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST.” As the recipient of a regional Chairman’s Award, Rebel Robotics automatically advances to the FIRST World Championship in Houston and will be considered for the national Chairman’s Award.
Winners of the Chairman’s Award at the Championship event are inducted into the FIRST Hall of Fame for inspiring greater levels of respect for science and technology.
Faculty advisors for Rebel Robotics Team #2638 are John Motchkavitz, South High business/technology department chair; Matthew Corrigan, business/technology teacher; and Andrea Zinn, mathematics teacher.
—Submitted by the
Great Neck Public School District
