About Mentors
If a group of students are given the tools to build a robot, they will likely find a variety of different ways to build it. They may succeed, but even if they do, they will be bound to the same challenges of the past - after all, they wouldn't be the first in the world to build a robot. In order to get the full experience, they need to be able to speak with people who have done it before; they need to be able to speak with an experienced individual who is willing to reveal common problems and solutions to them, so that history is not repeated. They need a mentor.
FIRST is a unique competition in that it allows students to have mentors. A mentor is someone who has prior experience working with a specific technology. For example: when creating a new drawing of the robot, a mentor would be able to help the student using their past experiences. The student will be able to learn much more than if they had tried to solve the problem using online guides. The mentoring program helps to accelerate students' learning.
A mentor can be almost anyone: a parent, a former student who has moved to post-secondary education, or a professional already working in the industry. Our team is lucky to have talented mentors from General Motors to guide our progress with their expert advice.
The students of Team 1114 - Simbotics would like to extend their greatest thanks to all those who tirelessly gave so much of their time to help prepare us for the future. Thank you to all of our mentors!
Our Mentors
| Executive Sponsor | |
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Name: Stephen Rourke Years on Simbotics: 8 Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Executive Sponsor, Strategy and Drive Occupation: Director of Engineering, General Motors St. Catharines Powertrain Education: Mechanical Engineering, Kettering University |
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| Lead Mentors | |
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Name: Derek Bessette Years on Simbotics: 8 Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive, Electrical Occupation: Engineer Degree: Mechanical Engineering, Queen's University 2001 Woodie Flowers Award: Waterloo Regional Winner, 2007 (read essay) |
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Name: Karthik Kanagasabapathy Years on Simbotics: 7 Years in FIRST: 13 (formerly with 188, Woburn Robotics) Position on Team: Strategy and Drive, Controls and Programming, Website, Awards Occupation: Systems Analyst Degree: Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo 2005 Woodie Flowers Award: Waterloo Regional Winner, 2005 (read essay) |
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Name: Greg Phillips Years on Simbotics: 8 Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Lead Teacher Occupation: Technical Director & Teacher at Governor Simcoe Secondary School Education: Technology Education, Buffalo State College; Certified Iron Worker |
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Name: Kate Radtke Years on Simbotics: 6 Years in FIRST: 6 Position on Team: Awards Occupation: Supervisor at General Motors St. Catharines Powertrain Degree: Kinesiology, University of Waterloo 2004 |
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| Sub-team Mentors | |
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Name: Geoff Allan Years on Simbotics: 8 (1 as a student, 7 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Strategy and Drive, Website Occupation: Trader Degree: Mathematics/Business Administration, University of Waterloo 2008 |
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Name: Jeff Beckett Years on Simbotics: 6 (2 as a student, 4 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 6 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing Occupation: College Student Program: Manufacturing Engineering Technician, Mohawk College 2010 |
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Name: Ben Bennett Years on Simbotics: 1 Years in FIRST: 4 (formerly with team 2166, Appleby Robotics) Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive, Electrical Occupation: University Student Program: Mechanical Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) 2011 |
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Name: Emerald Church Years on Simbotics: 8 (3 as a student, 5 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Website, Awards, Marketing and Promotions Occupation: University Student Program: Mathematics, Brock University 2009 |
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Name: Mike DiRamio Years on Simbotics: 5 Years in FIRST: 5 Position on Team: Controls and Programming, Electrical Occupation: Mathematics and Computer Science Teacher Degree: Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science, University of Waterloo 2004 |
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Name: Eric LePalud Years on Simbotics: 7 (3 as a student, 4 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 7 Position on Team: Electrical Occupation: University Student Program: Mechatronics Engineering, McMaster University 2011 |
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Name: Ian Mackenzie Years on Simbotics: 7 Years in FIRST: 13 (formerly with team 188, Woburn Robotics) Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Controls and Programming, 3D Modelling Occupation: Graduate Student Degree: Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo 2006 Grad Program: Masters in System Design Engineering, University of Waterloo 2008 Woodie Flowers Award: Waterloo Regional Winner, 2008 (read essay) |
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Name: Brent Selvig Years on Simbotics: 8 (2 as a student, 6 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 8 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing Occupation: Tool & Die Maker Degree: Tool & Die Maker Apprenticeship, Niagara College 2007 |
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Name: Todd Willick Years on Simbotics: 5 Years in FIRST: 7 (formerly with team 1305, Near North Student Robotics Initiative) Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive Occupation: University Student Program: Mechanical Engineering, University of Waterloo 2009 |
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Name: Kyle Willick Years on Simbotics: 4 Years in FIRST: 7 (formerly with team 1305, Near North Student Robotics Initiative) Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive, Controls and Programming, Electrical, Drive Coach Occupation: University Student Program: Mathematics, University of Waterloo 2012 |
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| Mentors in Training | |
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Name: Leigh Pauls Years on Simbotics: 4 (3 as a student, 1 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 4 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive, Controls and Programming, Electrical Occupation: University Student Program: Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo 2013 |
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Name: Brandon Pruniak Years on Simbotics: 5 (4 as a student, 1 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 5 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Strategy and Drive, Electrical, Awards Occupation: College Student Program: Engineering, Niagara College 2013 |
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Name: Scoot (Ryan Shaw) Years on Simbotics: 4 (3 as a student, 1 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 4 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing, Electrical, Awards Occupation: College Student Program: Engineering, Niagara College 2013 |
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Name: Luke Visser Years on Simbotics: 5 (4 as a student, 1 as a returning mentor) Years in FIRST: 5 Position on Team: Engineering and Manufacturing Occupation: College Student Program: Welding, Niagara College 2012 |
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