FIRST place

Robotics team travels to Texas competition

Atlas team members from both John Glenn and Wayne Memorial high schools
traveled to Texas to compete in the 2023 FIRST Robotics Championship. 

A group of students from John Glenn and Wayne Memorial high schools in the Wayne-Westland Community School District were recently selected to participate in one of the most esteemed national youth robotics competitions, the 2023 FIRST Robotics Championship. This year, the competition took place in Houston, TX and was attended by more than 35,000 students, coaches, and supporters from 43 countries.    

Atlas, the name of the Wayne Westland district joint team consisting of 11 students, with additional staff members and coaches, competed against 600 teams in special playing fields using robots they designed, built, and programmed.

The Wayne Westland team won the  Michigan All-Star Rookie award, following their initial foray into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) projects via Deloitte's national Smart Factory Believers program.

Not only did the students place 65th out of the top 80 teams in the world for their innovative robotic invention, but they also received an award for team diversity, a testament to the importance of programs like Deloitte's Smart Factory Believers program, which gives students from diverse backgrounds an important pathway to explore a career in STEM, explained a spokesman from Deloitte. 

The program, which started as part of the philanthropy mission of Deloitte's Smart Factory @ Wichita, provides new STEM education kits called the Smart Rover to students in underserved communities in the United States. Inspired by their work with the Smart Rover, these students have taken their STEM skills to the next level, enabling them to compete at the national level at the FIRST Championship. The district was one of the first to take part in the program, and Deloitte helped support the team travel to Houston.