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Date: 2/23/2023
AGAWAM — It costs nearly $7,000 each season for the high school’s Rosie Robotics team to build a robot from scratch, and that doesn’t include other necessary technical or programming costs. The annual financial support required for the program, which is not funded by the school budget, totals $15,000.
Recently, the team got a financial boost from a group of students who graduated from Agawam High School more than 30 years before the robotics program began.
Representatives of the class of 1969 Reunion Committee donated more $400 to the Agawam Robotics Education Association (AREA). The association provides resources, as well as financial, volunteer and “in kind” services, to FIRST robotics programs operating in Agawam — whether they are school- or home-based.
“We are incredibly grateful to the class of 1969,” said Wendy Rua, president of AREA and a member of the town’s School Committee. “We were thrilled when they reached out to us. Students on the team were especially excited to speak with class representatives and offered them a tour of the shop to show them what the team is currently working on.”
Carol (O’Connor), Baj, a member of the Reunion Committee, said following the 50th class reunion in 2019, they decided that instead of holding more big events, future reunions will be casual get-togethers with no start-up money required.
“We had a fantastic time, but realized we will never be able to top that reunion,” she explained. She said there are about 260 surviving classmates from a graduating class of 306 students.
Baj added that the reunion committee has managed money from the class as start-up funds for fifth, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th and 50th reunions. Before closing the account, the committee decided to donate the remaining funds to their alma mater. They talked with Principal Jim Blain, who suggested the robotics team.
In addition to Baj, other members of the reunion committee at the check presentation and tour included Marge (Galica) Atwater, Al Baj, “Grez” Grezbien, Sunny Grezbien and Diane (DiDonato) Pirnie.
During a tour of the robotics shop area in the John Burns Technology Wing at the school, representatives of the Class of 1969 saw how this year’s Rosie Robotics team — along other FIRST robotics teams — will address the current global challenges. They are focusing on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for everyone.
“By encouraging FIRST participants to think about future energy sustainability, we’re also empowering them to be the next generation of leaders and innovators, tackling the world’s toughest challenges,” explained Rua.
AREA supports all four levels of FIRST teams in Agawam. They include Junior FIRST Lego League (JrFLL, kindergarten through grade 3), FIRST Lego League, (FLL, grades 4-8), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC, grades 7-8) and the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC, grades 9-12).
Team members learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Many of these skills can come to life during build season, both in school and through outreach activities.
“Many of our alums have gone on to major in the STEM fields in college and gained a head start in their future careers because of their time on our team. Our mentors are as diverse as our students, who are parents, professionals and FIRST alumni,” said Rua.
She added that this season there are four Rosie alumni serving as mentors — three 2021 graduates and one from the Class of 2015. The team’s primary goals for this year are to increase visibility and to obtain financial and community support.
“We measure our success both by monetary support and by interest in volunteering for our team. Our strength is that we are a diverse group of individuals who bring enthusiasm, dedication and a tremendous amount of fun to everything that we do,” said Rua.
The Rosie Robotics team devotes 24 hours a week, working evenings and weekends to design, manufacture, build and program the robot that will enter competitions with other high school teams starting March 10. In week 5 of their build program, Rosie was beginning to take shape following weeks of computer aided design (CAD) work. With the drivetrain built, members of the class of 1969 could see it was now moving.
For more information about AREA, visit sites.google.com/view/roboticsagawam/home. Adults interested in volunteering or companies and individuals wishing to sponsor or make a donation to the team can contact Rua at wrua@agawamed.org.