Impact Award
The FIRST Impact Award (formerly the Chairman’s Award) is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of the FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encourage more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.
- FIRST
7419 Impact
"We are Team 7419, and we support."
FIRST has had a tremendous impact on every member of our team. In addition to shaping our identities, it is an integral part of who we are, teaching us everything from engineering basics to collaborating as a team—allowing us to succeed in any career. Today, as Team 7419 T.E.C.H. Support (Technology, Education, Collaboration, Humanity) has grown beyond 100 members, and these values and lessons remain ingrained in our team. FIRST has had a tremendous impact on every member of our team. In addition to shaping our identities, it is an integral part of who we are, teaching us everything from engineering basics to collaborating as a team—allowing us to succeed in any career.
Technology
Our team cultivates strong technical skills in individuals in our team and community, using the knowledge we have to increase accessibility in our society.
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Inventeam
Over the past 4 years, many of our team members have been designing a device to improve in-game communication between referees and deaf athletes. This project is a part of the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams initiative. The inspiration for this project came when some Tech Support athletes noticed significant game delays occurring during basketball matches against players with impaired hearing. In the 2020-2021 school year, our team was one of 13 high schools nationwide to receive the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant.
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Programming Department
This department is responsible for writing and testing all of the code that controls the robot during matches. The talented students in the programming subgroup work closely with the electrical and mechanical subgroups to make sure everything is properly integrated. Programming meetings are often filled with lively discussion as students debate algorithms and strategies. Team members learn valuable technical skills like Java programming, control system logic, and debugging techniques. Through late nights of coding before competitions, the programmers gain tenacity and teamwork skills.
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Mechanical Department
The hardware department is a defining aspect of our high school robotics team. The department is involved in mechanical design and fabrication and collaborates with the software department at every leg of the build process - integrating strategy and electrical systems. Members of the hardware department use CAD software to sketch 3D models of the robot and its components before committing the design to the build process. Fabrication brings CAD designs to life in our workshop, using 3D printing, laser cutting, milling, CNC routing, and other processes to iterate between prototypes and arrive at a final bot quickly.
Education
7419 TECH supports educating our community, helping 1300+ children across the world further their passions for STEM.
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STEAMBOT
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Mentoring FLL/FTC
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One of the first educational projects we created was our Udemy course Project STEAMBOT, in collaboration with the 501(c)(3) non-profit, Village of Dreams. We were inspired to make the course after several of our members taught the LEGO Boost Kit to kids at the McHenry Family Shelter House. We loved how engaged the children were because they had a hands-on, interactive experience. Using the valuable insight and experience that we gained from teaching the Kit, from March 2020 to April 2022, we worked on creating a course that teaches the basics of robotics and programming using the LEGO Boost Creative Toolbox. The course covered the importance and meaning of STEM, fundamental parts of a robot, and important programming concepts, and led the students through building the LEGO Boost robot and programming it using the app through multiple videos and quizzes. The course has reached over 970 students across 100 countries, and our presence continues to grow every day. This online course is completely free and easily accessible and is one of our longest-standing initiatives to this day.
Our team has always been heavily involved in the FIRST community through multiple dimensions. As this team was started by FLL (FIRST Lego League) and FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) alumni, we are extremely dedicated to extending our support to the other two FIRST programs. In the past 3 years, we started 7 FLL and 3 FTC teams, while regularly mentoring these 10 plus 3 others. Most notably, we started 4 FTC and FLL teams this season intended to support the #FIRSTLikeAGirl mission and encourage gender diversity in STEM.
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Genius Kids
We have brought Project STEAMBOT to our local Genius Kids center in Dublin, CA, in March 2023. Genius Kids is an educational/day care center for young children. The program was extremely successful and inspiring for the students we worked with, so that summer we hosted a more extensive workshop for them.
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Little design Lab
Over the summer of 2022, we also taught at the Floyd I. Marchus School, which provides special education services for students. Over the course of 6 weeks, we taught the children basic engineering practices with TinkerCAD, laser cutting, and 3D printing. We also taught them programming with the LEGO Spike robotics sets. Finally, we taught them about circuits and electronics with Arduino. Altogether, we aim to instill valuable engineering skills in marginalized communities, allowing kids to access STEM opportunities previously out of reach due to their difficult circumstances.
Collaboration
7419 TECH supports other local organizations and nonprofits through regular collaborations and partnerships in order to further our mission of education for all.
Hosting events
We frequently host FTC (First Tech Challenge) Regional competitions for local teams. This serves as a critical component in our Robotics journey to educate and help the students of the world gain a better understanding of how to utilize STEM for the better.
Village of Dreams
In collaboration with the Village of Dreams, we began weekly Zoom sessions with several schools in rural villages in India. In these sessions, we teach the students our Udemy course and mentor them in various technical aspects of robotics. Beyond teaching these students about robots, we strive to impart a love and curiosity for technical fields. When we found that many of the girls in our classes had doubts about their STEM capabilities, we hosted a special seminar and advocated for the involvement of women in engineering and computer science, inspiring them to continue learning about robotics.
Girl / Boy Scouts
Over the last 3 years, we've consistently hosted workshops and demos for Boy and Girl Scouts. For example, we help run BSA Troop #941's annual pushcart derby, where 9 groups of 9-15 scouts build push carts to race against the clock. We assist in the setup and cleanup of the event and help scouts repair their carts when they break down.
Similarly, for the first time last year, we hosted a workshop with Girl Scout Troop #32973, helping them earn their robotics badges. We used the Lego BOOST Kit to help them understand principles of control and movement in robots. We plan to continue these workshops for other Girl Scout troops in our area, inspiring these girls to actively seek out STEM education and opportunities.
Humanity
7419 TECH supports individuals in underserved communities across 100+ countries through seminars, classes, and fundraisers/drives.
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