Miss Daisy the 'Perfect Combination of Academics and Social Atmosphere'

With between 65 and 75 students on the FIRST Robotics team, named Miss Daisy, Wissahickon has by far, one of the largest teams at FIRST competitions.

Each student on the team has a specific responsibility to the robot the team builds, whether it’s a part in designing the robot, building the parts of the robot, or on the media team and spreading the teams news, everyone has a part to play.

The students on the team are wide and varied, encompassing athletes, marching band members, dancers, academics and more.

The students build an entirely new robot each year to meet the requirements of the FIRST Competition game. This year, the game was to have your robot shoot basketballs through a net.

The rounds last for two minutes, the first 15 seconds, a team’s robot must act on its own. Then for a minute and 45 seconds, students control the robot to play the game. The rounds are always three-on-three.

CEOs, astronauts, Hollywood producers, as well as household names such as George H. Bush and Stephen Colbert have previously been judges for the competitions.

Besides the FIRST awards, Wissahickon’s FIRST team gives out Daisy Awards at competitions to other teams.

At the recent World Championship in St. Louis, Miss Daisy placed as a Championship Division Finalist, and earned a Silver Championship Medal. The team’s regular season record is 76-8-1. 

$14 million dollars available in scholarships for FIRST students, one out of every three students who applies for a scholarship receives one.

“Robotics is the perfect combination of academics with a social atmosphere,” said David Cui, a student on the Mechanical Build team.

"It's really th best experience ever," said Willow B., a student on the robot design team. "It's the best feeling in the world - seeing the robot in competition and knowing you ere involved in making it."