Press Release: Bishop-Wisecarver Group Continues Support of STEM Education as Diamond Supplier of FIRST Robotics Competition
Eight years of sponsoring innovative teams and donating equipment impacts thousands of high school students
Pittsburg, Calif. – March 19, 2015 – Bishop-Wisecarver Group, a WBENC-certified, woman-owned family of companies that offer guidance solutions, contract specialty manufacturing and mechatronic-based engineering services, continues its longstanding commitment to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education as a Diamond Supplier for the 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®). In addition, the company is sponsoring four California-based FIRST® teams to help fund their projects and travel to regional competitions. Designation as a Diamond Supplier means Bishop-Wisecarver has donated between $150,00-$250,000 for the 2015 competition and includes in-kind donations of their DualVee® Linear Guide Track, part of the DualVee product line, which is a group of simple components used by industrial equipment makers for linear and rotary guided motion applications.
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people and now includes several different competitions for various age groups and interests. The 2015 FRC includes more than 73,000 high school students and 17,000 mentors from 19 countries.
"Partnering with FIRST is a priority for the Bishop-Wisecarver Group as these competitions provide hands-on learning challenges that excite students and bridge the gap between education and the business world," said Pamela Kan, president of Bishop-Wisecarver. "By the time the actual competitions occur, thousands of students have spent weeks learning, designing and redesigning and the energy level is amazing. Our employees like to attend to join the excitement and support our future colleagues."
Bishop-Wisecarver sponsors FRC teams that participate in national robotics competitions where high school students build robots that compete with other teams to complete a set of prescribed tasks. The program is designed to increase the interest of young people in science and technology and build practical teamwork and life skills through an intensive, hands-on, team-based engineering experience.
"The real-world experience students get from the FIRST projects is second to none," said David Andrzejewski, FIRST Coach for FRC Team 1458 from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif. "The competition and club aspect brings a lot of responsibilities to the kids. They learn how to manage the club, how to do accounting and finances and how to solve problems making sure everyone's idea is heard. You would be hard pressed to find an aspect of professional culture that isn’t replicated in the FIRST competitions."
Bishop-Wisecarver is sponsoring four teams in 2015:
FRC Team 1458 - Red Tie Robotics - Monte Vista High School, Danville, CA
FRC Team 3470 - The Patriots - Heritage High School, Brentwood, CA
FRC Team 4019 - Bridges Academy - Studio City, CA
FRC Team 692 - The Fembots - St. Francis High School, Sacramento, CA
"I think FIRST is an amazing program for science-minded students with high aspirations," said Jamie Wetherbee, student member of FRC Team 4019 from Bridges Academy in Studio City, Calif. "It prepares students for the long hours of future jobs, and provides many skills needed for any job in the engineering world. I have personally learned how to move forward from failure and to try to adapt after things go wrong."
Regional competitions begin in March and local winners then compete at the FIRST Championships to be held April 22-25, 2015, in St. Louis, Missouri.
About the Bishop-Wisecarver Group
Bishop-Wisecarver Group (BWG) is a woman-owned family of WBENC-certified companies that works with manufacturers to engineer, manufacture, and build linear and rotary motion solutions, custom complex assemblies, and optimal embedded intelligence systems. Through the integration of mechanical, electrical, software, control and systems design engineering expertise, 60+ years of experience and 20,000+ unique clients, BWG continues to provide a single point of service that results in custom designs, increased efficiencies and accelerated time to market.
