Andrew Johnston wants Huntsville’s young people to be as excited about robotics and science as he is. The grade 10 Huntsville High School (HHS) student was recognized at last week’s FIRST Robotics Canada regional competition in North Bay for his efforts to inspire them.
Johnston was named as one of two finalists for the prestigious Dean’s List Award, an achievement that has earned him the chance to go to the FIRST Robotics world championships where he aims to be one of ten North American students chosen as an award winner.
Being a finalist for the award means that he has “done a lot of outreach to the community, inspiring younger generations of children to go into robotics and the sciences,” said Johnston. “It’s important because as time goes on we are getting more and more reliant on technology. The more people who are interested in it and who have a comfort level with it, the better and faster the technology can develop and be more successful.”
He was nominated for the Dean’s List Award by HHS teacher and robotics mentor Ian McTavish, who submitted an essay highlighting Johnston’s achievements. Johnston then had to prepare a portfolio outlining his community outreach and how he has used the skills he’s learned from FIRST Robotics, and give a seven-minute presentation at the competition in North Bay.
How did it feel to win? “I was ecstatic, I was very excited. I’ve been preparing a lot for this and I was just amazed that I won it!” said Johnston, who plans to pursue post-secondary studies in Information Technology after he graduates from HHS. The FIRST Robotics Championships will be held April 27-30 in St. Louis, Missouri.
As for the team, Hoyas Robotics had a challenging competition in North Bay, said Johnston. “We didn’t do as well as we thought we would but we learned a lot and we learned from our mistakes. We are looking forward to next year and we are prepared to dominate next year.”
The Hoyas Robotics team at the FIRST Robotics North Bay Regionals. Photo: Pam Nadrofsky
Next up for the team is the Skills Ontario competition at RIM Park in Waterloo in May. They’ll start building their robot for that competition this week and they are still looking for sponsors to come forward to help with supplies for the build.
They’ll also be out in the community at the following events – along with the robot from the North Bay competition and other, smaller robots – to continue promoting robotics and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics):
- Hospice Tea Party at Huntsville Place Mall, April 16
- Hike for Hospice, May 1
- BBQ at Robinson’s Independent Grocer, May 6-8, with Technogirls
- Band on the Run, June 11
- Visits to local public schools in May or June
- Tech night at the high school sometime in 2016, hopefully before the end of the school year
Follow the team’s progress and community outreach on Twitter at @HHS4152.
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