Northwestern robotics team receives grants from The Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut

By Julie Scharnberg

FIRST Robotics Team NRG4055 – better known as The Gearheads – from Northwestern Regional High School will build their robot this year with a new set of tools, thanks to a grant from the Ruth and Robert Cron Endowment Fund of The Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a non-profit organization devoted to advancing the pursuits of science and ingenuity. Northwestern’s robotics team has been a participant in this nationwide program since 2012.

The Gearheads team also received 15 refurbished Lenovo laptops through a Community Foundation donor, Cotiviti. The team will be transporting their robot to competitions in a trailer supported by the Northwest CT Philanthropy Fund of The Community Foundation.

Several Norfolk students are active in the FIRST program at Regional 7. Ariana Cyr (left) is hard at work on the team’s safety animation video and artwork. Shauna Cyr (right) is also working on the safety animation video and artwork for the team’s marketing efforts, and is part of the robot build team. Other Norfolk students include Lilly McGrath (safety animation video and artwork) and Nate Cyr (robot driver and robot build team). Norfolk resident Alyson Thomson currently serves as the Second Vice Chairperson of The Community Foundation.

For more information about the robotics program at Northwestern, go to nrg4055.org. To donate to The Community Foundation, visit cfnwct.org.

Photo by Julie Scharnberg.