Bishop-Wisecarver Group, a WBENC-certified, woman-owned family of companies that offer guidance solutions, contract specialty manufacturing and mechatronic-based engineering services, continues its longstanding commitment to STEM education as a Diamond Supplier for the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition. The company is also sponsoring four California-based FIRST teams to help fund their projects and travel to regional competitions.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people and now includes several different competitions for various age groups and interests. The 2015 FRC includes more than 73,000 high school students and 17,000 mentors from 19 countries.
“Partnering with FIRST is a priority for the Bishop-Wisecarver Group as these competitions provide hands-on learning challenges that excite students and bridge the gap between education and the business world,” said Pamela Kan, president of Bishop-Wisecarver. “By the time the actual competitions occur, thousands of students have spent weeks learning, designing and redesigning and the energy level is amazing. Our employees like to attend to join the excitement and support our future colleagues.”
Bishop-Wisecarver sponsors FRC teams that participate in national robotics competitions where high school students build robots that compete with other teams to complete a set of prescribed tasks. The program is designed to increase the interest of young people in science and technology and build practical teamwork and life skills through an intensive, hands-on, team-based engineering experience.
“The real-world experience students get from the FIRST projects is second to none,” said David Andrzejewski, FIRST Coach for FRC Team 1458 from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif. “The competition and club aspect brings a lot of responsibilities to the kids. They learn how to manage the club, how to do accounting and finances and how to solve problems making sure everyone’s idea is heard. You would be hard pressed to find an aspect of professional culture that isn’t replicated in the FIRST competitions.”
“I think FIRST is an amazing program for science-minded students with high aspirations,” said Jamie Wetherbee, student member of FRC Team 4019 from Bridges Academy in Studio City, Calif. “It prepares students for the long hours of future jobs, and provides many skills needed for any job in the engineering world. I have personally learned how to move forward from failure and to try to adapt after things go wrong.”
