Coronavirus Not Stopping Southington CyberKnights

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Here is an update on the Southington CyberKnights robotics team from Southington High School:

The Southington CyberKnights aren’t letting the COVID-19 lockdown keep them from a winning season. The team, comprised of 58 Southington high school students and their adult mentors, was hard at work designing and building a robot to compete in the 2020 FIRST Robotics season, when the coronavirus reached the United States, causing competitions to be canceled. While their objectives shifted, they carried on as a team, collecting donations for a local food pantry, producing and distributing over 2,000 mask clips to medical professionals and essential workers, and even creating DIY at-home STEM challenges for younger kids.

Despite physical competitions being cancelled, including the World Championship, FIRST soon announced that teams could still look forward to an Awards Ceremony. In an effort to recognize teams’ year-round hard work, judges would select recipients for several awards normally given out at events. As a result, the CyberKnights ‘brought home’ several awards without attending an event, maintaining an award-winning record and even earning the 30th banner in the team’s history.

For the second year in a row, the CyberKnights received the highly coveted Chairman’s Award. Judges used the teams’ previously submitted 10,000 character essays to select a winner for this award, which is the most prestigious award in FIRST.

The Chairman’s Award honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. The CyberKnights were named the Western New England District Chairman’s Award winners. Judges noted the team’s efforts to make STEM accessible to all, their work in the community, as well as their contributions to local youth, veterans, and senior citizens.

Walter Goodenough, a Junior at Southington High School was nominated for the FIRST Dean’s List Award by his team and was interviewed remotely by judges. Not only was Walter selected as a winner at the district level, he was then interviewed a second time and won the Dean’s List Finalist Award for the New England District Championship.

Walter was one of 6 finalists out of 22 students from across all 6 New England states. The Dean’s List Award is similar to the very prestigious National Merit Scholarship Award and recognizes the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding secondary school
students.

Team mentor and parent, Jim Gorham, was honored with the New England FIRST District Volunteer of the Year Award for his dedication in volunteering his time to teaching students. This award is presented to an individual that consistently excels in their efforts, with proven results in the areas of impact, leadership, personal commitment, community, and historical contributions. Jim not only mentors and volunteers with the CyberKnights, he also donates countless hours each year to managing students across New England on the NE FIRST Social Media Team. This team works with students to capture the excitement of competition in photos and videos. Jim worked tirelessly to create a 2020 Awards Week for teams across New England to be able to tune in and watch from home, reuniting them virtually, even when meeting in person was not possible.

The CyberKnights are sponsored by several local organizations and companies and are so thankful for their continued support over the years. They are looking forward to completing their robot and hopefully competing in off season events as well as the start of a new season in the Fall. For now, they are celebrating the recent successes and remain focused on community outreach efforts and providing support where it is needed.

— Stacey Gray