NONPROFIT Mercenary Robotics Team builds students’ STEM knowledge M ercenary Robotics is work- ing to connect students across McKinney and BY SHELBIE HAMILTON
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
Older students build task-oriented robots that are made to compete in sports-style competitions, he said. The team nished third out of about 40 teams at a district competition earlier this year and ranked 34th out of over 200 teams across the state in the 2023 competition season. The organization also recently won the FIRST Impact award, which is the FIRST organization’s most prestigious award recognizing teams’ excellence and impact in both the competition and their community, according to the organization’s website. After establishing the nonpro t community team in 2017, members began working out of a garage and later used a rented space at a Habitat for Humanity Collin County ware- house, Goodman said. The organi- zation has already outgrown its east McKinney o ce space after only a year there, according to team leaders. “The growth has been so quick and so much that we haven’t been able to scale up to accommodate that growth,” Schafer said. “But there’s no signs of slowing down; we just got to catch up.” The organization grew from 10 students in 2022 to over 100 students in 2023, in addition to gaining ve new mentors for a total of 16, according to a pre- sentation by Mercenary Robotics team members. “We take people in; we give them all the STEM skills and leadership opportunities they need; and they take that with them as they grow,” team member Gargi Garg said.
in neighboring communities with an opportunity to create competi- tion-ready robots and develop their STEM knowledge. The nonpro t organization, estab- lished through the Collin County 4-H program, o ers hands-on robotics opportunities for students ranging from second to 12th grade. The name, Mercenary Robotics, or M.E.R.C.S., comes from the team’s focus areas: mathematics, engineering, robotics and community service. The team, which began at McKinney High School, was later transitioned into a community team not tied to a speci c school. This allows for students attending various school districts in the area as well as students attending private schools and home-schooled students to participate in the organization, President and Head Coach Charlie Goodman said. “It’s truly making robotics avail- able to anybody, no matter what school you go to, what your economic situation is,” he said. “[We] provide a robotics program for everyone.” Team members coordinate to build robots in alignment with For Inspira- tion and Recognition of Science and Technology robotics competitions. Younger students in second through 6th grades begin with cre- ating robots made using Legos that address real-world problems, team member Alex Schafer said.
McKinney-based Mercenary Robotics o ers STEM and robotics opportunities to students ranging from second grade to 12th grade.
SHELBIE HAMILTON COMMUNITY IMPACT
Student members of the organization are involved in the process to nd donors and sponsors to fund robot builds. Funding sources for the organization in 2022-23 included: FUNDING FOR ROBOTS
2022-23 team FUNDING SOURCES
Corporate sponsors: 30% Private donations: 46%
Grants: 14.5%
Student fees: 9.5%
SOURCE: MERCENARY ROBOTICS COMMUNITY IMPACT
High school members can participate in creating a task-oriented robot for use in competition.
Mercenary Robotics team members compete at local and regional competitions using student-built robots. COURTESY MERCENARY ROBOTICS
SHELBIE HAMILTON COMMUNITY IMPACT
Mercenary Robotics 901 N. McDonald St., Ste. 503, McKinney www.mercenaryrobotics.com
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