VRC Girl Powered Online Challenge Sponsored by Google
Girl Powered is an initiative to redefine the face of STEM by creating a more inclusive environment for all students within the robotics community. Together, with the support of the entire community, we strive to encourage equal participation of young women and men in competitive robotics. We want to use this challenge to show the robotics community at large just what it means to be a Girl Powered VRC Challenge team!
Things to keep in mind for a successful submission:
- When you hear the phrase, Girl Powered, what comes to mind? How is it reflected in your team’s approach to robotics?
- Share how your team took initiative to create a more inclusive environment that attracts a diverse group of students.
- Share how each team member tried various roles on the team (designing, building, driving, programming, strategy, awards, etc.). Explain what you learned through this experience.
- How do you believe diversity of perspective changes your robot design, your team chemistry, and even your ability to succeed?
- Who is your STEM role model and why? Does this person inspire you to have a more inclusive team/program? How?
We want compelling, engaging stories that give us insight into how you’ve taken the Girl Powered initiative and incorporated it into your experience on a VRC Challenge team. The benefit of having a diverse team becomes apparent through your individual stories.
Winners
The Firestone Falcon Females
7316B, Girl Powered EST. 2016-2017
Hello and welcome to our submission to the Girl Powered challenge! We have been a Girl-Powered team since early Starstruck with a ratio of 50% or more girls every year. Below, you can find our submission and an essay on the topic of girls in STEM.
Women’s culture
We thought it would be fun to do this project because many women in our history did things that changed the world, the nation, and more. I would tell you more but you can just read our presentation.
8931R Team Girl Power!
In our team, we have three girls. These three girls have worked tirelessly to improve our club and the overall environment to help girls in STEM succeed. Through dedication, ingenuity, and excitement, our VEX community has improved greatly, especially for girls just entering the field.
Girls changing the face of STEM
Girls have such a meaningful significance to the world of STEM and it especially shows in VEX robotics. We would like to show how we incorporate ideas of women empowerment and equality into our team. We believe having girls is important in VEX!
Seeing Through Different Eyes
This essay talks about the change that we, as a Girl Powered team, went through when the either graders on our team left.
Girl Powered Online Submission
Hi! We are team 2501B The Hive, we are excited to share our experiences on GIRL POWERED with you! Team members include Chase and Alysa. We have both driven and programmed for the team, after looking at our scores and how we felt about it, we decided that Chase is the better driver and Alysa is the better programmer. We both build, design, and notebook. Chase still helps program and Alysa drives for strategy and practice. We both excel at speaking with judges and mentoring younger students. We recognize each others strengths for the competitions, while practicing all the skills in the lab....
Does Vex Need More Girls?
Vex IQ - no, Vex in general has branched out and become even more popular in recent years. However, the question that has yet to be asked is: Does Vex Need More Girls? Are we promoting Girl Power throughout or have we just become lazy, stepped aside and let the boys take over. This is what my story/essay is about. I hope you enjoy!
Girl Power Essay from Team 4073B
This essay is about what girl power means to team 4073B.
From My Experience
5 years I have been learning about Vex robotics, 4 of them being competition, all of them I have been a girl who has been outnumerbered by boys. Here is what I have learned from my experiences.
Innovating the Future
Starting as a means to bring VEX back to those who lacked the financial capability and time commitment, The Innovators have reached out to 14 different schools to let female and minority voices be heard. With members specializing in varying fields such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Research, and Computer Science, we have become the face of diversity and strive to innovate the future.
Girl Powered. What is it? - team 9457X
As fellow female robetiers would know it isn't always easy being one of the few girls in robotics. My fellow female temates and I have faced cold shoulders to looks with added meanings because of our genders. I have been in robotics for 5 years now and this is my deffinition of girl powered and how we embrace it on team 9457X!
Girl Power at Eastern Tech
VRC Girl Powered Challenge
This essay is one written with the exerience of a senior, the creativity of a sophmore, and the curiousity of a freshman.
Credits
Title: Girl Power at Eastern Tech
Entrants: Mia Snyder, Beth Moseng, Katherine Henn
Team Number: 5839D
The Progression of Team 30526C
In the past, STEM fields, such as engineering, have been dominated by Caucasion males in the United States. As of today, 33.9% of post secondary schooling degrees earned by women are any kind of STEM. Our team defies this stereotype with not only being girl powered, but a Caucasion and African American all girls team. Our team consists of four girls, each with valued positions. Our names are, Lora, Journee, Aenye and Kimberly (Kim). Hopefully, with our story we can show you why girls should be in STEM fields.
27301B - Girl Powered!
Our team has a lot of talented people and they're all different in their own ways. We've found that in VEX we all have similar ambitions. Each one of those aspirations requires STEM. As a result, we've been using VEX as a stepping stone and have been helping each other along the way. Here are all the ways that show that 27301B is Girl Powered!
Girl Powered: Leveling the Playing Field
How 7983R is Leveling the Playing Field in Robotics
What Girl Power Means to 7035E
Our essay is about what Girl Power means to us, and how we work to implement it on our team. It's written by Leia Spagnola and Keziah Speed, and revised and edited by the other members of our team.
Redefining the Face of STEM
Redwood Robotics is a middle school student run organization built on a foundation of teamwork, perseverance, and love of robotics. All the students here are extremely dedicated and hardworking. In just 2 short years, we have grown into a club that not only strives to be better, but extends a helping hand to those in need of it. In the following years, we hope that what started as a small after-school group will continue to improve and thrive as the cycle of old members teaching new members continues.
Although this club is great in many ways, we are still working on encouraging...
Girl Powered in Mbaracayu forest
Our Girl Powered event in the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve
Robotics Without Borders
This essay encompasses Mater Lakes Academy's 91104C team's story of diversity which helped the team prosper.
Girl Powered in Mbaracayu forest
These photos show several mixed feelings and moments that I had with robotics the first photo for me means relaxation and or better than it exists, sitting in front of the PC and programming is the most beautiful thing there can be and that I do every day with robotics , learn new things, investigate and delve deeper into the field of science and technology and look for our strategies and solutions to improve various things in everyday life. The second photo means a lot to me, the first competition in which I participated with the team I feel nervous and so many inexplicable feelings...
Girl Powered in Mbaracayu forest
While we were working in the robotics workshop, we received a group of students from the Heroes del Chaco institution as a visit We commented on how are the competitions and online Challenges, they were delighted and wanted to know more
A New Potential
It all started with one:
All it takes is one girl. One girl to show the others what’s possible; one girl to open
the doors.
Dear Ellison: An open letter to a girl who has...
Thanks for being the best team captain I could have ever asked for this
year. Thanks for being girl powered and leading the way; defying
stereotypes and maintaining kindness, but not letting yourself be
walked over by the boys who haven’t figured out how capable you, and
every female robotics student, really are. I look forward to the
upcoming competitions with our team- whatever new shape it takes
through this year.