by Austin Taylor to Rockwall ISD, VP Robotic Construction
The Rockwall High School Robotics Booster Club was recently selected to receive a community grant from the Best Buy Foundation and the Best Buy store in Rockwall. The purpose of the grant is to support students in exploring new technologies and further preparing them for the workforce. FRC 1296 – Full Metal Jackets is a student lead organization with mentor support which reinforces the goal of the grant.
The team invited Best Buy employees to their facility where student officers prepared a presentation to introduce the team. The presentation included team history, the mission statement, student led finances, and student requirements such as community service, OSHA and CPR training. Student officers guided the Best Buy employees on a tour of the Dr. Gene Burton College and Career Academy. After the presentation, employees visited each subsection of the team including the mechanical and electrical workshop where students were working on a prototype, software training, computer aided design (CAD) team and the public relations team.
The booster club used some of the funds from the grant to purchase a new computer from Best Buy in Rockwall for the FRC 1296-Full Metal Jackets Scouting Subteam who had been using their own personal computers. Now the scouting subteam will have a team computer to use at competitions to gather and analyze data for game strategy crucial to the team’s success.
