{"id":12797,"date":"2016-03-28T16:22:49","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T20:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=12797"},"modified":"2016-03-28T16:22:49","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T20:22:49","slug":"hhs-student-andrew-johnston-is-an-award-finalist-for-robotics-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/hhs-student-andrew-johnston-is-an-award-finalist-for-robotics-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"HHS student Andrew Johnston is an award finalist for robotics world championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Johnston wants Huntsville\u2019s 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\u2019s FIRST Robotics Canada regional competition in North Bay for his efforts to inspire them.<\/p>\n

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Johnston was named as one of two finalists for the prestigious Dean\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Being a finalist for the award means that he has \u201cdone a lot of outreach to the community, inspiring younger generations of children to go into robotics and the sciences,\u201d said Johnston. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was nominated for the Dean\u2019s List Award by HHS teacher and robotics mentor Ian McTavish, who submitted an essay highlighting Johnston\u2019s achievements. Johnston then had to prepare a portfolio outlining his community outreach and how he has used the skills he\u2019s learned from FIRST Robotics, and give a seven-minute presentation at the competition in North Bay.<\/p>\n

How did it feel to win? \u201cI was ecstatic, I was very excited. I\u2019ve been preparing a lot for this and I was just amazed that I won it!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

As for the team, Hoyas Robotics had a challenging competition in North Bay, said Johnston. \u201cWe didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Hoyas Robotics team at the FIRST Robotics North Bay Regionals. Photo: Pam Nadrofsky<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up for the team is the Skills Ontario competition at RIM Park in Waterloo in May. They\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll also be out in the community at the following events \u2013 along with the robot from the North Bay competition and other, smaller robots \u2013 to continue promoting robotics and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics):<\/p>\n