Joey Fedor takes lead on robotics team
November 14, 2014
Many teams here at Stillwater often go unnoticed but are secretly very successful. The Robotics team is no exception.
Senior Joey Fedor is this year’s captain of the Robotics team. The adult supervisors of the team are science teacher Dennis Symalla and industrial technology teacher Todd Kapsner. Not only does he partake in robotics team but he is also part of many accelerated classes, many of which are taken at a community college.
Taking on the role as captain is a big, one considering the past of the team.
“As captain, I delegate all of the smaller jobs and opportunities that we have to give to all of the members on the team because without that we are kind of a mess and we would never get things done,” said Fedor.
Senior Margo Redmond has been on the Robotics team since her sophomore year and has gotten to know Fedor since she began.
“[Fedor] is a great leader and he provides lots of opportunities such as building challenges to give us a more hands on experience,” said Redmond.
Fedor has had the influence of engineering lifestyle since he was a kid.
“My brother and my dad both were in robotics before and both of my parents are engineers so they kind of pushed me into it. [I would like to go into] computer science and computer engineering,” said Fedor.
Fedor has competed on the Robotics team for four years.
He said, “When we are at the competitions, it’s pretty hard to explain. There are two rooms. One room is for piecing your robot together if things break and the other one is where the actual event happens. [There are] three robots that go against three other robots on a set task that is provided for us weeks before the competition.”
During one of Fedor’s first years on the team in 2012, they made it to state.
“[2012] was the first year that state was actually held for robotics, so we actually ended up winning the first state competition in robotics,” explained Fedor.
The team is not currently preparing for a competition but have been working on other types of robots.
“Right now we are working on a t-shirt launcher that we can use at football games and anything in the gym,” said Fedor.
The Robotics team meets every Thursday and is always looking for new members.
Redmond said, “The team is a great passage into college as it helps teach the basics of engineering and gets you ready for a career in the engineering profession.”
Joey Costa • Jan 7, 2015 at 6:03 pm
This article informed readers not only about Joey Fedor, but also about the Robotics team. The quotes used really show how much of a leader Fedor is and how he deserves to be the captain after being on the team for four years. A wider selection of people to interview, such as coaches, parents or more friends, would’ve helped to further explain Fedor’s successes and his impact on the robotics team.
Katelyn Weisbrod • Dec 17, 2014 at 8:06 am
I liked how your focus was Joey Fedor, but you also talked about the club and what kind of things they have planned for the year. The article had nice flow and was very informative.