Keenan High’s Robotics Team Making an Impact

The Robo-Raiders, Keenan High School’s robotics team, are using their sharp engineering skills to make a major impact throughout the state. During the recent FIRST Palmetto Regional Robotics competition in Columbia, the Robo-Raiders presented at the VIP luncheon, won the FIRST entrepreneurial award and were awarded $2,500 in cash prizes. The FIRST competition involved 44 teams of robotics students from high schools across the nation.

Keenan High School’s award-winning Robo-Raiders robotics team continues their winning streak.

Individual winners at the FIRST competition included the following students:

	Jazmynn Outen and Shellie Golden: $500 SCANA Award for Engineering Prototyping and the $500 South Carolina Department of Education Office of Career and Technology Education Award for Engineering Design using Inventor software.
	Kelli McQueen and Bernard Martin: $500 Palmetto Partners for Science and Technology Award for Engineering Communications for the best written and oral presentation.
	This team also won the $1000 USC College of Engineering and Information Technology Grand Award for the best all-around entry.

The Robo-Raiders’ displays at the competition included a reading tent, rides on a hovercraft built by the team and four puppets created for Keenan’s production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Prior to their win at the FIRST competition, the Robo-Raiders picked up the Entrepreneurship award at the Peachtree Regional Robotics competition in Duluth, Georgia on March 16. The team also made a guest appearance at the March meeting of the SC Association of School Librarians. Media specialists at the event were invited to ride a hovercraft and shoot hoops with the robot designed by the Robo-Raiders. The Robo-Raiders are the only team in America partnering their engineering skills with the literary expertise of librarians to promote a love of learning among students.

For more information, please contact the Richland One Office of Communications at 231-7504 or 231-7510.

 

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