Team 2449's Orbinauts 2007-2008

The 2 4 4 9 Members

Founding Members 2007-2008

Mentors

Name: Shea Ferring
Occupation: Aerospace Engineer (AKA Rocket Scientist)
Previous FIRST Teams: Teams 233, 1592, 1897, 698 (one year each before they kicked me out to start another team)
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Anything and everything FIRST
From the Mind of Shea: Training students to be addicted to success while demonstrating the power of a team!

Name: Stan Ferris
Occupation: Science Teacher
Previous FIRST Teams: First time
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical
From the Mind of Stan: It is exciting to see the students learn real design, building, and programming skills from the professional engineers. The FIRST contest is not simply a virtual challenge, but requires young people to achieve goals in teamwork, engineering, fabrication, and deadlines. This experience will be invaluable to these future engineers and scientists!

Name: John Baca
Occupation: Instrumentation Engineer
Previous FIRST Teams: First Time
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical & Electrical
From the Mind of John: The kids have said a number of memorable phrases: "I'm actually thinking...This is almost better than playing videos all day...I'm doing man work...My hands are red - this is just like real work...I need a drink after this, but I don't drink..." FIRST has been a good intro into the thinking of 21st century high school students...much different than I recall. It's all been good!

Name: Mary Ann Stoll
Occupation: Program Coordinator, Water Sustainability
Previous FIRST Teams: First Time
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Web page design and development
From the Mind of Mary Ann: The students are awesome... trying things they never imagined. It's a compromise: I listen to their music; they do things for the web page even though they "know nothing about making web pages." I really admire the students who have stuck with it, taken risks, and been here all those building hours.

Name: Michael Veto
Occupation: Student
Previous FIRST Teams: First Time
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical
From the Mind of Michael: Everyday working with the FIRST team's mentors and students is an exciting experience where I get to learn and have fun at the same time. It’s a great exercise of all the stuff one doesn't learn from school.

Name: Karla Orosco
Previous FIRST Teams: Team 1897 one year
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical
From the Mind of Karla: The students are doing great, learning and doing things that I used to do when I was their age. I'm learning everyday about how to be a team member. I get fun and enjoyment out of working on the robot with the mentors and the students. Thanks to FIRST for this great opportunity!

Name: Sandra Gorton
Occupation: Physics Teacher
Previous FIRST Teams: First Year
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Wherever needed
From the Mind of Sandra: It has been great seeing the kids getting involved and bringing in new people. They are proud of what they are doing and eager to share their experiences with others. I can't wait to see the final product and the looks on the faces of the team.

Name: David Vice
Occupation: Tempe District Electrician
Previous FIRST Teams: First year
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Electrical wiring and manufacturing
From the Mind of David: This has been a lot of fun; it takes me back to my college days. The kids in this class are the best. They are the ones who the future belongs to. Hopefully they will solve the engineering problems of the future.

Name: George "Scooter" Valuikas
Occupation: Electronics/Ordnance Technician
Previous FIRST Teams: First Year
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Electrical and Structural manufacturing
From the Mind of George: I really enjoy working with the students. It's great to see the look of understanding when they finally grasp a new concept. I feel I'm involved in a very worthwhile project.

Students

Name: Josh Pomerenke
School: James Madison Prep
Grade: Senior
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Electrical, Programming
From the Mind of Josh: I'm interested in studying to become an electrical engineer, but I never had any experience engineering any actual electronics. Most of my experience in technology had been in programming, but so far in FIRST, I have enjoyed helping to actually build things.

Name: Matt Pierre
School: Marcos De Niza
Grade: 12th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Programming
From the Mind of Matt: I just want to have fun with this robotics program, while learning at the same time. I plan to major in information systems security and minor in computer programming. I really like FIRST, I think it's an amazing program that inspires people to expand in things that will actually benefit them in life.

Name: Katie McDowell
School: Marcos de Niza
Grade: Senior
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical, Anywhere I'm needed, Plus the fundraising and paper work that’s involved
From the Mind of Katie: I love learning. I really enjoy being able to have a hands on experience with something that I've never gotten to do before.

Name: Robert Stoll
School: James Madison Prep
Grade: 8th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Programming, Web, Mechanical
From the Mind of Robert: I like robotics, engineering, and this is an excellent opportunity. I also have coded with basic before, so this is a new experience.

Name: Joseph J.
School: Marcos De Niza
Grade: 12th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Basically a Renaissance Man
From the Mind of Joseph: My brother was involved in the previous years' competition and invited me to join. FIRST so far has been fun... the robot, I say, is the best part of the competition. After graduation, I plan invent antigravity, then to go to the moon, and spin gold from hay. Of course, I could also go to college and get a job that pays me ridiculous amounts of money...

Name: Arash Houshmand-parsi
School: James Madison Prep
Grade: 12th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical, food, and electrical
From the Mind of Arash: Robotics is the reason I wake up every morning Seriously, though, it has been a great experience and I have learned a lot. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in engineering. Next year I plan on attending the Ira A. Fulton school of engineering and hope to major in Biomedical engineering.

Name: Morgan Hammel
School: James Madison Prep
Grade: 8th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Mechanical, Where I am needed
From the Mind of Morgan: Robotics has interested me for a long time. I wanted to know how they work. I love mechanics also.

Name: Joshua "Moose" Horn
School: Marcos de Niza
Grade: 11th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Anything and everything they ask me to do that I can't pass off onto someone else.
From the Mind of Joshua: I'm interested in FIRST because I've always been interested in physics and mechanics, and I actually get to put my mechanical skills into something cool. After graduation I plan on becoming a psychologist, since I can't think of anything more theoretical than the human mind.

Name: Jordan Meissinger
School: Marcos De Niza
Grade: 9th
Main Area(s) of Involvement: Power tools
From the Mind of Jordan: I thought that robotics would be pretty cool and everything, but I was wrong; it is freakin' awesome and I am having a lot of fun meeting new people along with building and cutting material for the robot.