Luke is a senior at WSHS. He joined this year and is our PR team Executive(he may have given himself this title). His favorite memory from the team is getting to hang out with them at the scrimmage. Luke said, “I joined the team because I wanted to gain some experience for college and beyond.” Luke is attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities college of science and engineering next year and planning to major in computer science.

Aiyanna is a sophomore at Winona Senior High School. This is her first year on the team. On the team, she is a programmer and driver although she also helps out with other tasks as they arise. When asked why she joined the team she answered, “I really enjoy robotics and being a part of something.” Hanging out with the team on the way to competitions is one of her favorite memories.

Quilon is a freshman at Winona Senior High School. He has been on the team for a year and a half. He holds two roles on the team. First, he is a builder and second he is the regional manager for the PR team. Riding with the team on the way to the competitions is his favorite memory of the team. He decided to join the team when he saw the advertisement at the middle school and thought it looked fun.

Xavier is a junior at Winona Senior High School. He has been on the team since the end of the last year. He is our “team coordinator”. As team coordinator, his roles are keeping everyone on task and making sure tasks get completed. His favorite memory on the team is his experience at the first scrimmage. “The opportunities and activities that it could open up for me.” are the reasons he joined the team.

Ivy is a sophomore at Winona Senior High School. This is her first year on the team. On the team, her main job is designing projects of CAD. She is great at drawing up various parts the team needs that can be 3D printed. Her favorite memory is “when we were using the reflective tape to make the robot follow us.” She decided to join the team because “I knew a lot of people on the team, and it seemed fun.”

Nicholas is a freshman at Winona Senior High School. This is his first year on the team. His job on the team is building and welding. If you need something welded he is the one to go to. He decided to join the team when Quilon asked him to join.

Gabe is a junior at Winona Senior High School. This year is his second year on the team. As one of the more “senior” members of the team, he does a lot of different things but his main job on the team is being an engineer & builder. His favorite memory from the team is when his team member Aiyanna drove the robot into a door. He joined the team because he had friends on the team.

Logan is a junior at Winona Senior High School. He is in his second year on the team. Since he is one of the more “senior” members he does various different things but his official designations are as driver and builder. His favorite memory from the team is when they “shut down a team by destroying them.” He joined the team because it “seemed fun.

Anilise is a freshman at Winona Senior High School. This is her first year on the team. Her main jobs on the team are building and being a technician. Her favorite memory from the team is driving the robot down the hallways of the school. This is something we do to practice and test out the robot. She decided to join the team because “It makes for a well-rounded high school experience as well as a well-rounded college application.”

Colin is a sophomore at Winona Senior High School. This is his first year on the team. Working mostly on building the robot, Colin is our newest member to join the team. He loves wiring the robot which is something we certainly don’t have a shortage of. He decided to join the team because of his love of technology.

Mr. Braun is the lead mentor of the team. He started mentoring in 2011. He decided to mentor because “[His] son joined the team & it was fun!” He works at WSHS as a science teacher. He attended St. Olaf college and WSU. He grew up in Bloomington, MN. “Watching students learn, work as a team, and learn how to use their knowledge in real-life circumstances” are his favorite aspects of mentoring.

Paul is one of our mentors for the team. Hailing from Melrose, MN, Paul has received post-secondary education from St. Cloud State Technical College and Southeast Tech College. He has been mentoring the team since 2019. When asked why he started mentoring, he answered “My machinist mentor, Paul Sorenson, introduced me. It’s been fun so I have continued to help out.”  He said his favorite parts of mentoring the team are “watching the team build, grow, fail, fix things, problem solve, and just enjoy learning.” In final comments, Paul mentioned how he wished his high school had a robotics team when he was in school.

Fernando is one of our mentors for the team. He is from Mexico City, Mexico. The longest standing mentor, Fernando started mentoring in 2008 when he was asked by a coworker at Benchmark when he worked there. He currently works as a test engineer at BCS-Automotive-Interface-Solutions in Goodview. Having attended the University of California Riverside, Fernando has a bachelors degree with a major in physics and a minor in math. “Teaching students real life skills” is Fernando’s favorite part about being a mentor.

Roger is Test Lab Senior Specialist at Trane in Lacrosse, Wi. He has been mentoring since 2018 when he decided to start mentoring because he wanted to help his grandson who was on the team. His favorite part of mentoring is “Seeing the students grow to become more responsible adults and become more aware of what possibilities can be in their future.” Roger wanted to note that robotics was right up his alley because “Electronics and electronic-related projects have always been my hobby.”