Description

You can't help but be inspired when you see someone who worked hard to create a team and even overcome some of the hardest challenges, especially when that person is a junior in high school. Janelle with FIRST Robotics Competition 7194, iRam is proof that hard work and dedication pays off.

After taking a STEM class in middle school, Janelle knew that she wanted to also pursue it in high school and decided that a robotics team was the way to go. Her school in New Port Richey, Florida did not have a FIRST Robotics team but she didn't let that stop her. As she went about making this goal a reality, she knew that they needed to get everything in order before actually joining FIRST in order to be as successful as possible. They started out by taking their time to recruit teammates. They accomplished this by spreading the word through pep rallies and fundraisers. They took a hands on approach with their classmates by showing them the cool things that they could make.

Along the way, they learned about the fundamentals of FIRST, like teamwork and gracious professionalism and how important it is to help everybody reach their goals. And although it seemed kind of strange at first to help out the competition, they soon realized how great it felt to do just that, especially when it's for a team that has helped yours.

Watch Janelle's interview to find out more about this inspiring young lady and the challenges she and her team are facing and how they are doubling down to turn their setbacks into growth.

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Participants

Scott Ertz

Host

Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.

Daniele Mendez

Host

Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.

Michele Mendez

Episode Author

Although Michele has worked in the banking industry full time for many years, she originally went to school with a concentration in communications, advertising and marketing. She began her career in sales and retail management, selling electronics and computers. Her love of all things tech eventually brought her back into the electronics arena three years ago when she started with PLuGHiTz Corporation to help with special events as a Production Assistant. Soon she began to dabble with the audio and video and is loving her role as Producer. She's also one of our content writers and assists with product reviews. Looking forward, she is excited to expand her skill set into editing and helping the company continue to grow.

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