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Young Leaders
MCINTOSH LAW FIRM’S YOUNG LEADERSLeveling Up
pine lake prep robotiCS team Spork
by Allison Futterman photography courtesy of Pine Lake Prep
Pine Lake Prep’s robotics Team “SPORK” stands for “Students Providing Outreach and Robotic Kinship.” And they most definitely live up to their name. The team competes in an international high school robotics competition known as the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).
Coral Riley, a computer science teacher at Pine Lake Prep is the team’s coach. Although Riley is an integral part of the team, she focuses on student leadership, teamwork, and accomplishments of the students. “My job is to make sure they have a support system, but our team is totally student driven,” Riley says. “They design and fabricate all the robot parts, they build it electronically and mechanically, and they program it.” which competes in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) challenge. “Just like I’m the coach for the FRC team, they’re like the coaches for the FLL,” says Riley.
Team SPORK wouldn’t be able to compete so successfully without the assistance of 14 invaluable mentors who help with engineering and operations.
Participation on the team has opened doors and created opportunities for alumni members, including internships at Tesla and NASA. And approximately 90 percent go on to careers in STEM. Current team captain Amanda Foess has been accepted to Stanford University. She credits her experience with Team Spork, along with her other STEM and computer science studies at Pine Lake Prep for opening “a variety of opportunities including a leadership and cyber security internship the summer between my
Sruthi A. and Sarah T. show off a competition robot at the Mooresville Back to School Bash.
In mid-April, the team was one of 10 teams from North Carolina to compete in the First Championship Robotics Competition in Houston, Texas.
junior and senior year, and the ability to continue my education at Stanford University during the next four years.”
Each season, a new robot is issued, comprised of certain criteria about what the robot must be able to do. But there aren’t any parameters on how the team accomplishes the goal. Riley explains that this “forces the team to be very creative with solutions.” Robots are built at a full production shop on campus.
They compete at several competitions each season, and in the first competition of 2022, Team Spork won the “Gracious Professionalism Award,” for their respect and encouragement of other teams.
Pine School Prep requires their upper school students to do 40 service hours each year. Team SPORK takes this commitment seriously, and use their service hours to share their STEM knowledge and encourage others. Some outreach work they’ve done includes collaborating with and participating in the Mooresville Back 2 School Bash.
The team put their skills and equipment to good use during Covid 19—using their 3D printers to make face shields which they donated to their local fire department, Novant Health, and The Neighborhood C.A.R.E. Center.
Team Spork raises between $40,000 and $60,000 each year for their operating expenses, through various endeavors. A dedicated partner has been the Motorola Solutions Foundation—and they’re extremely appreciative of the support. “We’re constantly seeking community partners and sponsors,” says Riley.
