Three BrainSTEM Learning students from Pine-Richland, Ryan Scott, Piya Dargan, and Keerthana Visveish, have earned a bid to the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, Texas. The team, named Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team after a part of the human brain, is dedicated to outreach through its Robots Without Borders mission.
Their commitment to outreach includes leading over 100 events to break down barriers that prevent children from reaching their full potential. They have created STEM activity kits for the Ronald McDonald House, raised funds for humanitarian relief in Haiti, started robotics teams in Central America, and developed a STEM career pathway for students in Allegheny Public Housing. These efforts are showcased to judges at competitions.
At the Greater Pittsburgh Regional event in March, the team received the Regional Engineering Inspiration Award and NASA sponsorship. They also received the Regional FIRST Impact Award at the Miami Valley Regional event in Cincinnati. The team advanced to the second round of judging for Engineering Inspiration at the global level.
Ryan Scott, who leads business and outreach efforts on behalf of this team, said he initially joined for programming or engineering but found his passion in helping others through business and outreach aspects of FIRST Robotics. It’s just as rewarding for him to assist people as it is building robots; after all, FIRST Robotics aims to inspire and recognize achievements in science and technology through various competitions.
