Mission Statement
The mission of Team 3932 “The Dirty Mechanics” is to inspire young people to become skilled science and technology leaders by fostering an inspired and self-sustaining community of mentors and students. These students also learn to collaborate in order to grow expertise in soft skills such as leadership & communication as well. We are committed to helping and giving back to our community, sharing our expertise with other FIRST teams, and volunteering for FIRST events. We are committed to building awareness and excitement about what robotics means to the future of our world and recognizing those that are making the biggest impact. Team History & Growth
Team 3932 was founded Fall 2011 in response to a need for a community based team. We began as a team made up of students from only one school that competed exclusively during seasonal competitions. Today we have 25 team members from 8 different high schools and 2 home schools that participate in our year round program, offering summer skill training and off-season competitions. With a focus on encouraging girls interested in STEM, we have tripled girls on the team to maintain a 1:1 girl boy ratio. We have also maintained a 2:1 student mentor ratio that increased more individualized hands-on mentoring & training. Organizational structure
Our organizational structure begins with our executive team of founding mentors with important contributions from the rest of our 11 volunteer mentors with engineering and business backgrounds. They work with seasoned student leaders to manage the Build Team, Software Team and Business(BME) Team. Each of these three teams then have further subgroups managed by student leaders in training. Parent volunteers are also a crucial part of our organization and teams. Risk analysis
Strengths:
As a community team, we attract a diverse group of students from a variety of public, private and home schools. We have experienced all volunteer mentors and enthusiastic students that make our team competitive, visible, and appealing. Encouraging girls in STEM & engineering is a focus of our team with 50% girls. A 2:1 student mentor ratio allows for extensive hands-on skill training. Our year round program helps rookies build their skills and participate in community outreach. We have a large number of sponsors, reducing the risk of fluctuating funds. We did not stop during COVID, we went virtual via Zoom, started an at home summer robot car program, 3D printed PPE, and completed almost all 2021 online FIRST competitions. Weaknesses:
Due to COVID, our team recruitment resulted in fewer students than previous years. Additionally, our team must operate within 4H & CDC guidelines of temperature checks and masking in order to continue meeting & working in person. Although we engaged online very well during COVID, getting members back in the lab has not been easy. We look forward to recruiting more team members to take the place of our graduating seniors. Opportunities:
Because we are a community based team, we have the opportunity to share the FIRST program and our love of STEM with more students at our schools and through our community involvement. We plan to continue our partnerships with the Rotary Club’s Digital Inclusion Initiative, Bike Repair Outreach with Morningday Community Solutions, and cereal & food drives with Boca Helping Hands, a local charity. We look forward to marching in future holiday parades with our robots reaching 30,000 spectators/year promoting the learning and fun of FIRST! Threats:
Our biggest threat is recruitment sustainability. Most of our veteran students are Juniors and Seniors graduating this year, taking their skills with them. We have no freshman or junior members, It is vital that new freshmen and sophomores are recruited to learn these skills from senior team members and mentors to continue our team’s reputation as a team with very skilled robotics team members.. Marketing
We revamped our logo with a crisper bright blue format for easier recognizability & readability. Our website has been updated with a modern touch that connects with our current audience. A team Zoom background was created for online judged interviews. Our social media channels have a consistent posting schedule as we engage with our online audience. We are known for our iconic wrench logo design incorporated into our banners, shirts, pins, car magnets, window stickers, laptop stickers and our blue hardhat & foam wrench hats! You can find our pit easily at competitions with our large silver wrench atop our pit. Financials
Dirty Mechanics is fortunate to have 20 sponsors who support us financially, provide in-kind donations of machine tools & materials, and provide a robotics lab and practice space. We have done a number of fundraisers in the community to help raise money. We are organized as the Boca Raton Science & Technology 4H club under the Palm Beach County 4-H Association umbrella, a 501(c)3 non-profit as well as a FIRST Robotics 501(c)3 non-profit.
2022 “Nuts ‘n Bolts” - The Dirty Mechanics FRC Team 3932
Boca Raton 4-H Sci. & Tech. Club founded in Fall 2011. 2021-2022 is our 11th year of competition
Grown from 1 school to 8 schools & 2 homeschool groups with 524 students
Year round program - 7 days/week in build/competition season, 1-2 days/week off-season
10 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 0 Freshman
Tripled girls on team since 2011-2012. 11 Girls, 13 Boys. (52% Girls, 48% Boys)
Active Volunteer Mentors:11 Sponsors: 22, Volunteers: 8
2:1 student/mentor ratio, leading to increased team skills
Goals are gracious professionalism, technical and leadership skill building, strategic partnerships, and team sustainability. Team Graduates - Investing in Future
97% of Dirty Mechanics have gone on to higher education*
90% are enrolled in engineering fields of study & many received scholarships
3932 alumni continue to mentor and volunteer with FIRST
Members have won full college scholarships, college grants, & some of the $80 Million FIRST Partner Scholarships available based on their robotics experience
Our alumni are graduating college, landing challenging, well-paying jobs and returning to mentor FIRST teams
Technical Skill Building
2:1 Student/Mentor ratio allows for greatly expanding student skills
Older students & mentors teach younger members how to use power tools & wiring, soldering, programming
Clinics held for soldering, wiring, drilling, riveting, robot chain building, brake shear-roller, bandsaws
Students built 3D printer from a kit
Mentor gave JAVA Clinic to team members and welcomed other Boca High NROTC students
Work Experience (paid) at local tech companies
Summer programming workshops including OnShape 3-D CAD, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Computer Vision
Intellectual Property attorney taught 35 students/alumni/parents on patent process & how to establish a patent
Student-run Blender & Java lessons
2020 Robot car program, students built & programmed robot cars at home to compete in mentor based challenges so all team members gained programming skills
Leadership Skill Building
4H leadership opportunities & development of critical life skills like Competence, Confidence, Character, Caring, Connection through 4H Model Congress, State & County 4H Council, camps & fairs
RYLA - Rotary Club sponsors 2-4 team scholarships per year
Global Leadership Summit - Sponsor Lisa Byrne/Coldwell Banker provides 5-10 team scholarships per year
Qualified students given the opportunity to lead their own teams as “wrench leaders" during COVID
Student team leaders are mentored as they grow into their positions in addition to “5 min. leadership training”
FIRST Outreach
“How-To” videos on “Building 3 CIM Ball Shifter Gearbox” and bumper tips videos to teach other FRC teams
Video workshops in basic electronics & FRC control elements available on our YouTube channel forFIRST teams. Inspired our sponsor St. Andrew’s School to build FLL & FTC programs, classrooms, & Entrepreneurship Center
Volunteer & mentor FIRST Lego League (FLL) at local, regional, state & out-of-state levels
Volunteer at Regional FRC tournaments (Robot Inspection, Safety Glasses, Robot Queuing and where needed)
Set up petition for Florida and other states to co-support bill S.2890 - Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2016 and gathered signatures at Regionals. Contacted Senators to set up appointments to present the bill. Lehenbauer family sang National Anthem in New Orleans Bayou 2017, Orlando Regional & Orlando VIP Luncheon 2018, S FL Regional 2018 & Orlando Regional 2020. Team members sang at S FL Regional 2019
Community Outreach
Reaching 200,000+, we marched & demonstrated our robots in 7 Boca Raton Holiday parades, winning 1st place Walking Group 2018 & 2019 with 5 robots and 3rd place in 2013 and one Boynton Beach Parade
Reaching 8,305+, we have demoed & presented at local school, community, FLL & sponsor events like 3 robots performing choreography with a concert band to “The Machine Awakes” to the delight of kids, parents, & sponsors
At Boca Helping Hands, food bank & soup kitchen, we have collected over 1,393 lbs of Thanksgiving basket food & cereal from our cereal drives in last 5 yrs and volunteered 170+ hrs
Student-led volunteer effort with Morningday Community Solutions has repaired 200+ bikes distributed to local charities
Over 500 COVID PPE 3D printed and distributed to 15 organizations
7 team members participate in canCode, an organization that teaches coding to underprivileged kids
Team Achievements
2022:
Quarterfinalist, 5th Alliance, Rank 12 of 42 teams, Bayou Regional
Engineering Inspiration Award, Bayou Regional (qualified for Championships)
Semifinalist, 4th Alliance Captain, Rank 6 of 33 team, South Florida Regional
Gracious Professionalism Award, South Florida Regional
2 Dean’s List Award Finalists (Morgan D. & Sienna G.)
2021:
Autonomous Award, Zinc Group
Rank 3, Infinite Recharge , Zinc Group
Dean’s List Award Winner, (Megan E.), FIRST Worldwide
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award (Mentor - Keith Glasnapp), Florida Region
2020:
“Mission Mars” STEM Inspiration Award, WPI 2020 Game Jam
2019:
Semifinalist, 3rd Alliance Captain, South Florida Regional
Entrepreneurship Award, South Florida Regional
Rank 16, Orlando Regional
Finals Alliance (2 robots), Mission Mayhem (offseason)
Champion Alliance, Space Coast Showdown (offseason)
Safety Award, Space Coast Showdown (offseason)
2018:
Quarterfinalist, Orlando Regional
Quarterfinalist, South Florida Regional
Dean’s List Finalist, (Gabriella R.) South Florida Regional
Quarterfinalist, Mission Mayhem (offseason)
2017:
Quarterfinalist, Bayou Regional
Entrepreneurship Award, Orlando Regional
Champion Alliance, Mission Mayhem (offseason)
2016:
FRC Championship Competitor - Archimedes Division (12th of 75 teams), St. Louis
Champion Alliance, S Florida Regional
Woodie Flowers Finalist (Mentor - David Ferguson), S Florida Regional
Entrepreneurship Award, Orlando Regional
Finalist, Mission Mayhem (offseason)
4th, Panther Prowl (offseason)
2015:
Finalist, Mission Mayhem (offseason)
SemiFinalist, Panther Prowl (offseason)
2014:
FRC Championship Competitor - Curie Division, St. Louis
Champion Alliance, S Florida Regional
Semifinalist, Orlando Regional
Florida State FLL Outstanding FRC Supporter Award
2013:
Semifinalist, S Florida Regional
Judge’s Award, S Florida Regional
Daily Safety Award, S Florida Regional
Semifinalist, Orlando Regional
Judge’s Award, Orlando Regional
Daily Safety Award, Orlando Regional
2012:
Quarterfinalist, S Florida Regional
Highest Rookie Seed Award, S Florida Regional
Rookie Inspiration Award, S Florida Regional
