Penguin Robotics

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Super proud of our Penguins! Elijah, Hannah Grace, and Johanna worked incredibly hard and gave it their all at the World Championship in St. Louis. With Elijah’s buddy JW, teammate and main driver unable to attend, Hannah Grace had to step up at the last minute as a main driver for her very first World Championship—and she got the job done with courage! Having the event in St. Louis was also a special treat, as it allowed Doh Young’s family to be there with us. I’m most proud that the team never stopped trying new ideas. Instead of playing it safe with their existing robot, they chose the harder path: constantly innovating and testing new designs until the very end. Their growth was the real win—we can’t wait to see them back for the new season!

Team Penguins shined at the Alabama State Championship (Middle School – VEX IQ), finishing 2nd in Skills (Driving: 203; Programming: 91) and earning a spot at the 2026 World Championship in St. Louis, where they will represent Alabama. I am immensely proud of Elijah, Johanna, Hanna Grace, and Juwon. This is the first season since our children returned to VEX IQ, and the countless hours—and tears—that Elijah and Team Penguins poured into robot building, programming, the engineering notebook, driving practice, and overcoming challenge after challenge make “tremendous” an understatement. I am very, very proud of their honest and hardworking effort. Elijah’s older brother, Abraham, and his LAMP High team, Overcooked, also won the Design Award at the Alabama State Championship (High School – V5) and will be heading to the World Championship to represent Alabama.

It’s two weeks into the historic first social media youth addiction trial in LA, and now that the jury is set, opening statements begin Monday. Had a great 48-hour Pit Stop at MGM and spent some special family time at the robotics competition. Both the VEX V5 and VEX IQ competitions were held at Auburn University today. In VEX IQ, the Penguins won the Tournament (Teamwork) Championship along with the Robot Skills Champion Award. They scored 203 points, marking their highest driving skills score yet! It was a huge day for our little Hannah Grace, who made her debut as the team’s second main driver. She handled the pressure of the competition stage perfectly; Elijah, Hannah Grace, and Johanna all showed true excellence, helping each other and other teams. Before the final rounds, one of the robot’s arms unexpectedly broke due to fatigue accumulated from many practices and matches, but Hannah Grace’s friends from other robotics team rushed to find the exact part the Penguins needed (and found it!). It was heartwarming to see such camaraderie among robotics buddies. Abraham’s LAMP High School team, Overcooked, shined as well—they entered the final elimination round as the No. 2 seed, ranked No. 3 in skills, and advanced to the quarterfinals. They wrapped up the day by winning the Excellence Award! I’m feeling recharged and am headed back to LA with “new tires” early tomorrow morning. What a wonderful Pit Stop with my family at the Alabama robotics pit!

Team Penguins competed in their season's third regional VEX IQ tournament today at the Redland Middle School in Wetumpka, and they won a Triple Crown: Tournament Champion (Teamwork Challenge Champions), Robot Skills Champion (Highest combined driver/autonomous score), and the Excellence Award (The highest overall honor, including the engineering notebook and interview). I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Redland Middle School prepared the event, even though it was their first time hosting it. Elijah was up until 3 a.m. on the tournament day, practicing and fine-tuning the robot programming. When another team member came to ask questions about the robot mechanism, Elijah was gladly helping him with helpful advice. When the alliance team member's robot suddenly stopped working with unexpected brain malfunctioning right before a match began, Elijah put down his robot and spent time to help them fix the robot, risking missing their own match. Witnessing those little moments made my day more than the awards they won. So proud of our Penguins.

It was a very special day for Team Penguins today. Penguin Robotics competed in the VEX IQ tournament at Enterprise High School and won the Teamwork Champion Award with their alliance team, the Warriors, and also won the Design Award! This was the second tournament the Penguins participated in this season after the comeback. With these two awards, they were double-qualified for the Alabama State Championship in February. Elijah served as team leader, builder, and driver; Juwon as a driver; big sister Johanna oversaw the engineering notebook; and Hannah Grace worked as a loader. Everyone worked hard and took care of their parts flawlessly and faithfully. What a beautiful team they are building. Big brother Abraham's encouragement, little brother Nehemiah's cheers for the team, and the Robotics Mom Doh Ah's amazing care for the team... I could not be prouder of our Penguins and am overjoyed to see their hard work, tears, and perseverance recognized in this very special way. Let's go, Penguins!

Happy Birthday, Penguin Robotics! By God’s grace, Penguin Robotics (Team 1025A) was formed four years ago today, on 10/25/2021. So glad to see them love and help each other as they grow together. Soli Deo Gloria, and let’s go Penguins!

⚙️ 10/25/2021 Penguin Robotics (1025A) was born
⚙️ 2021-2022 (Pitching In) AL State Champion
⚙️ 2022-2023 (Slapshot) AL State Champion | World Division Champion & World Championship Finalist
⚙️ 2023-2024 (Full Volume) AL State Championship Finalist

Penguins competed at a regional VEX IQ robotics tournament in Jasper, AL today and got the very close tournament 2nd place while winning another Design Award. Some matches did not go the way they practiced and wanted it to go but I am very thankful to see how they have been working hard and growing together as iron sharpens iron. Soli Deo Gloria.

Penguin Robotics won the Tournament (Teamwork) Champion and also received the event’s highest award, Excellence Award, at the Muratics New Years VEX IQ Robotics Competition held at the Oak Mountain Middle School today. With this win, Penguins are now qualified for the 2024 Alabama State Championship. Penguins have worked tirelessly and so grateful to see their hard work came to fruition this way. Soli Deo Gloria!