Bishop-Wisecarver Continues Support of STEM Education With 14 Consecutive Years as FIRST Robotics Sponsor
Pittsburg, Calif. – May 19, 2021 – Bishop-Wisecarver (BW), a trusted industrial automation company offering proven linear and rotary motion solutions that are expertly designed and delivered to perform, is continuing its support of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education as a Gold Supplier at the national level for the 2021 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®). In addition, the company has increased the number of regional high school teams it sponsors to bring needed funds and support to high school students who are learning and competing virtually.
Now in its fourteenth year of sponsoring the FRC, Bishop-Wisecarver has helped thousands of students learn vital STEM-based skills and gain real-world job skills and experience such as problem-solving, cooperation, leadership and time management. This year’s FRC included new challenge opportunities so teams could participate remotely this season.
Sara Venegas has a passion for engineering and is a first year member
of the Project 212 FIRST robotics team of Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord, Calif.
“One of the core values of the FIRST program is innovation and these students have shown this in incredible ways during this most challenging year,” said Pamela Kan, President of Bishop-Wisecarver. “Their creativity and persistence in solving problems, even when they couldn’t meet in person, didn’t have normal access to their tools or classrooms, and had to meet virtually, is inspiring for all of us. FIRST has always been about far more than the actual competition and we continue to be proud of our sponsorship of this organization and the students who show us all what perseverance and teamwork look like every day.”
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 2021 FRC program includes more than 2,900 teams with 73,000 youth team members from 28 countries around the globe.
In addition to being a Gold Supplier at the national level, Bishop-Wisecarver increased the number of regional California-based FIRST teams it supports this year as many teams lost sponsors from the previous year. These five different high school teams all participated in the 2021 FRC virtually, while also helping to mentor younger students and provide community support for STEM programs:
FRC Team 115 - MVRT - Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, CA
FRC Team 253 - Boba Bots 253 - Mills High School, Millbrae, CA
FRC Team 5430 - Pirate Robolution Crew - Pittsburg High School, Pittsburg, CA
FRC Team 7137 - Project 212- Ygnacio Valley High School, Concord, CA
FTC Team 7593 - TigerBots - Notre Dame High School, Belmont, CA
“In addition to our FIRST competition submissions, MVRT successfully started new programs this year focused on diversity in STEM workshops and increasing STEM education for special education students in our local community schools by teaching fun, interactive online lessons on various STEM concepts,” said Soumil Gupta, a senior and director of finance on the MVRT of Monta Vista High School. “We continued training for our first-year members by manufacturing mini-robots to be distributed to their homes so they could continue using skills that were taught through our online trainings. I'm proud to see peers taking initiative and leading others regardless of the difficulties of operating remotely.”
About FIRST
FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Boosted by a global support system of mentors, coaches, volunteers, alumni, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, and build robots, then compete and celebrate at local, regional, and international events. High school students are eligible for more than $80 million in college scholarships. Learn more at firstinspires.org.
About Bishop-Wisecarver
Bishop-Wisecarver’s proven mechatronic solutions are expertly designed and delivered to perform, enabling customers to solve their toughest industrial automation challenges. Leveraging 70 years of experience, the company has earned the reputation of providing unmatched quality, reliability, service and engineering support for every stage of a customer’s design cycle. Combining long-lasting performance with ease of installation, Bishop-Wisecarver products offer the lowest cost of ownership for a wide variety of applications ranging from Aerospace to Medical to X-Y-Z systems and more. No matter the application or extreme environmental conditions, Bishop-Wisecarver designs innovative solutions from concept to completion, from prototype to production, on time and on budget.
