PHOTOS BY JENNIFER COLTON
[quote style=”2″]Merkley a Longtime Supporter of Umatilla Students’ Efforts[/quote]
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) made 50 campaign stops across the state in the days before today’s election, but only one of them involved making a robot launch an oversized ball into the air.
“This is a lot of fun,” the senator said from the cafeteria at Umatilla High School. “The fact that this program has had some success and has excelled is a huge victory for education.”
Merkley stopped by Umatilla High School on Sunday to test drive the FIRST Robotics Competition team’s championship robot, take a bite out of some tacos and visit with about two dozen Umatilla students and supporters of the Umatilla Robotics Clubs.
Merkley’s connection with Umatilla Robotics began with a discussion he had about No Child Left Behind with Umatilla School District Superintendent Heidi Sipe. During the discussion, Sipe mentioned the robotics club they were hoping to start at Umatilla High School, and Merkley jumped on the idea and helped them secure the first round of grant funding to launch the program in 2011.
Since then, the club has won awards, topped regional competitions and competed at the world finals in St. Louise – twice.
Merkley said he is a strong supporter of STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – programs and hopes to get bi-partisan support for a nationwide STEM program. The senator said having high technology skills are critical to compete on the world state.
“This is great preparation for that,” he said of the robotics club. “It’s great team-building as well. The skills they’re learning here will be of great use to them in the future. I just love that there’s so much mechanical engineering, electrical engineering.”
UHS student and FRC driver Antonio Moreno showed Merkley the basics on controlling the robot and said more politicians should take an interest in robotics.
“It spreads awareness of FRC and all the other robotics things,” Moreno said. “And it’s fun.”
Megan Lorence, a member of the FRC marketing team, said Merkley’s visit is a great motivator for the team.
“I think it’s still hard to believe someone that high up is recognizing Umatilla,” she said. “Umatilla tends to be overlooked.”
Sipe said Merkley has visited the Umatilla students every year.
“Sen. Merkley has been a great supporter of Umatilla robotics since the beginning,” she said. “The kids really feel connected with him.”
The 2015 FRC season kicks off Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, but the team is already looking for sponsorships and grant funding. The Umatilla Robotics programs continue to rely on grants for funding, and the students are joining the effort.
“We’re in the process of writing one right now about women in STEM and about how many girls we have in robotics,” Lorence said.
Umatilla School Board Chairman Toby Cranston said the support is good for the students and the community.
“This is really a great opportunity for the kids to have this experience. The world is becoming so technical, it’s really important to have these skills,” Cranston said. “For him (Merkley) to be out here showing support for these kids and this program … It’s just great.”
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