St. Francis High School’s robotics team heads to World Championships

WELCOME BACK. A HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS TEAM IN SACRAMENTO IS HEADING TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE UP AGAINST SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST YOUNG MINDS IN THE STATE. ERIN HEFT SHOWS US HOW THEY’RE PREPARING. YES. VERY EXCITING. NEXT FEW DAYS FOR THE SAINT FRANCIS ROBOTICS TEAM. JOINING ME IS YOGA. OKAY. SO YOU ARE A 12TH GRADER. THIS IS YOUR LAST YEAR. YOU’VE PARTICIPATED IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR FOUR YEARS, AND YOU’RE HEADED TO NEWFOUNDLAND ON SUNDAY. THAT HAS TO BE EXCITING. YES, IT’S DEFINITELY REALLY EXCITING. IT’S SO NICE THAT MY LAST YEAR DURING THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IS INTERNATIONAL, AND THAT’S SUPER EXCITING. IT’S GOING TO BE A REALLY GREAT NEW ENVIRONMENT TO LEARN ABOUT MORE ABOUT THE WORLD, AND IT’S GOING TO BE SO FUN. SO WAS HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, NOW COLLEGIATE LEVEL. SO TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT WE’RE SEEING BECAUSE THIS IS AN ROV, RIGHT? YEAH. THIS IS YEAH. SO THIS IS OUR ROV AURELIA. AND RIGHT NOW IT’S COMPLETING TASKS UNDERWATER SUCH AS PICKING UP THIS CORAL SPECIES, AS YOU CAN SEE, WHICH IS STIMULATED BY THE PVC PROPS THAT WE’VE BUILT. AND ALL THESE TASKS ARE MEANT TO SIMULATE A REAL WORLD TASKS THAT ROV DO. SO WE’RE REALLY GETTING HANDS ON EXPERIENCE, EVEN THOUGH THE PROPS ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE THEY’RE NOT REAL, BUT IT’S DEFINITELY SUPER IMPORTANT. SO WHAT IS YOUR FUTURE PLANS? BECAUSE ROBOTICS AT THIS LEVEL, VERY IMPRESSIVE AND NICHE. IT’S VERY STEM. YES. YEAH. SO I WAS REALLY INSPIRED BY MY TIME HERE GOING INTO HIGH SCHOOL. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE DOING ROBOTICS, BUT I REALLY LOVED IT. AND NOW I’M GOING TO BE STUDYING MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AT UCLA SOON. SO I’M SUPER, SUPER EXCITED. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU. OKAY. LAST QUESTION. YOU, YOUR TEAM MENTORS STUDENTS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO FIFTH GRADE LEVEL. TALK TO ME ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT. YEAH, IT’S SUPER IMPORTANT. I THINK LIKE HAVING ALL THIS KNOWLEDGE COMING IN AND LEARNING OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, IT’S DEFINITELY ONLY IMPORTANT IF YOU’RE HANDING IT DOWN AND GIVING IT ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION. SO WE NAVIGATE, WE THIS YEAR, WE MENTORED A NAVIGATOR TEAM, WHICH IS THE, I THINK LIKE BEGINNER HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION. AND THAT’S BEEN REALLY EXCITING AND IT’S SUPER COOL SEEING ALL THE NEW MEMBERS GO THROUGH THE SAME LEARNING PROCESS WE DID. AND IT’S SUPER INSPIRING SEEING THEM, YOU KNOW, LEARN ABOUT ROBOTICS AND GROW A PASSION FOR IT TOO, LIKE WE DID OVER THE YEARS. YEAH. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. WELL, WE’LL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS PICTURE OF THE ROBOT DOING ITS