Using Advocacy to Close the Gender Gap By Madeline Zukowski, DSHA ’11
Hilltopper Robotics Team 1732, comprised of girls from DSHA and boys from Marquette University High School (MUHS), created and built a robot that qualified for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition World Championship this year. Even though the championship was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Dashers on the team learned beyond what a competition could teach them—practicing self-advocacy as they led, gained confidence, and worked together.
AT THE HEART of every robotics team is — of course — the robot. Students pour their hearts, souls, weekends, and months into preparing it for competition. The blood, sweat, and tears were all worth the clinched spot at the Worlds competition. Since its founding in 2006, Hilltopper Robotics Team 1732 has qualified for the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship every year, except in 2018 and 2019, according to Madelyn Jessick, DSHA ’21. While they were unable to clinch the trip to Worlds the last two years, they earned a spot this year; their robot beat out 45 other robots and came out victorious in a best-of-three match at the Midwest regional competition. Team 1732 competes within the FIRST organization. Each season, the team, made up of more than 60 members, must design and create a robot which will compete with other bots around the country in playing a specific game, like stacking milk crates or throwing frisbees into slots. 13
Ava Depies, DSHA ’22 (left), and Isabella Nielsen, DSHA ’22 (right)
The team is comprised of several sub teams responsible for different parts of the bot. The mechanical sub team is responsible for building the parts, while the electrical team works on wiring. There are also programming, design, business, and strategy sub teams, and the newest sub team: spirit and awards. Each sub team has two to four leaders.
