Crescenta Valley Robotics Team Thinks Neat is Awesome

At this time of year, students and graduates all over town are saying goodbye to their teachers and extending special thanks to the ones that made a difference in their lives. Few are more appreciated than Dr. Greg Neat, engineering  teacher and head of the robotics team, otherwise known as Team 589.

Neat has been a mentor and a motivator for dozens of students in the ten years he has been at the helm of CV High's robotics program. In 1998, while employed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Neat had an itch to share what he knew about the real world of science and technology with aspiring engineers. He became a computer science teacher at CV High and in 2001 started the robotics team with the intention of competing in the nationally recognized FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. Team 589, the number assigned to them at FIRST, has competed every year since, building their robotic entry in the high school's old machine shop.

“I wanted to create a university without walls, a place to get kids ready for the real world," said Neat. "Working in teams, innovating and solving concrete problems are most important. Our classroom is unlike most classrooms. You don’t get an 'A' because you’ve answered questions correctly on a test. You get an 'A' if the robot you’re building actually works.”

Former CV student Arshak Avanesyan was one of the first students to complete the Robotics program. He began taking Neat's class during its first year. “Greg Neat has been a hero to many of us,” said Avanesyan. “Kids are transformed in his program, learning teamwork, leadership and gaining valuable engineering experience not found in the traditional classroom setting. I’ve seen many students grow into engineers because of Neat’s motivation.”

Avanesyan is one of those engineers. After graduating, Avanesyan went on to get a degree from Cal Poly Pomona. He then worked at JPL and currently he helps build parts for the Mars Rover at Honeybee Robotics. 

Fellow robotics program alum Ara Kourchian is following a similar path. His excitement for robotics led him to the engineering department at Cal Poly Pomona and then to a job at JPL. “The robotics program helped me in so many ways,” said Kourchian. “I learned great teamwork skills that apply to working in the real world.” 

Team 589 has an annual year-end banquet. Kourchian and Avanesyan come back to the banquet year after year to see their friends. Avanesyan has the extra honor of presenting the annual Arshak Award.

The Arshak Award is a recognition created by Neat in honor of Avenesyan, a man he believes embodies the values of Team 589. The award is given to a senior that demonstrates outstanding qualities such as being a team player, showing good character, being committed to building and competing the team robot, and showing respect for peers and adults. Will Richards was this year's recipient. Though he graduates this year, he already has a job as a welder/fabricator at Tico Tech, an innovation and design company in Altadena. 

It seems that team members are winners whether or not their robot prevails at competitions. Team 589 and Greg Neat are fostering self-confidence, leadership and well-rounded life capabilities simply by working together.