Our Team

In Memoriam

We are dedicating our season to one of our founding teammates,

Jeremiah Bivins

Jeremiah was a gifted and driven student focused on becoming a Civil Engineer. His passion for robotics was clear from the moment he began learning to code. What we remember most is his quiet humor and determination to succeed.

Our robot, Bullfrog, is named in his honor, inspired by the song “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night.

Team Members

Evee P.

Outreach & Events, Slideshows, Build, Social Media

Interest Swimming, digital media, photography, fashion design
Fun fact Im the tallest girl in my grade.
Why robotics? To make new friends and to learn about a new activity I had no experience in.
Dream occupation Anesthesiologist
Favorite book To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee

Frank G.

Build

Interest Drums
Fun fact I have a cousin from Bulgaria.
Why robotics? For the experience and cuz ima NERD.
Dream occupation Film critic
Favorite book Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

Hailey V.

Team Captain

Interest Clarinet, Being Funny, Crochet & Other Needle Art, Math, Science, Being Awesome, Making Even More Awesome Friends
Fun fact I have a septum piercing!
Why robotics? It will aid the occupation I want to go in. Though I stayed for the people!!
Dream occupation Biomechanical engineer.
Favorite book Fahrenheit 451 & Ready Player One due to their themes that fit to society.

Lucia A.

Outreach, Documentation, Social Media

Interest I like dancing, art, and hanging out with my friends.
Fun fact I used to learn German when I was 4 and used to play piano and violin but unfortunately don't anymore. I also really, REALLY like rats, cats, and parrots.
Why robotics? Because my friends, Scarlett G. and Taylor G. encouraged me to. Also because I wanted to make new friends and explore a new topic that I wasn't really good at before.
Dream occupation To either be an orthodontist, dentist (anything in dentistry), and perhaps a dancer.
Favorite book My favorite book series is the Wings of Fire because it introduces a fantasy story with people that one usually might not be able to imagine. It's also has very creative storylines.

Sam V.

CAD Lead, Build

Interest My interests are Sailing and boating.
Fun fact A fun fact about me is that I moved 3 times.
Why robotics? I joined Robotics because I like to work together with people and see how they think about things.
Dream occupation My dream occupation is Sailing when there is a lot of wind.
Favorite book Harry Potter. I like this book because all the fun things that happen and I also like the characters.

Scarlett G.

Outreach, Website, Documentation

Interest Art, music, video games, website coding, and HAMILTON!!!
Fun fact I HATE PICKLES!!!
Why robotics? I was in robotics last year, and I really enjoyed it.
Dream occupation Something in the arts.
Favorite book Anything by Dan Brown. I LOVE HIS WRITING STYLE SO MUCH!!!

Taylor G.

Outreach lead, Documentation

Interest Writing, Drawing, and Crafting.
Fun fact I am learning a language outside of school.
Why robotics? I wanted an opportunity to connect with my community and lessen my social anxiety.
Dream occupation English teacher, preferably an out-of-nation TEFL English teacher.
Favorite book The Classic Sherlock Holmes Anthology, which is a collection of around 11 of Arthur Conan Doyle's favorite Holmes stories.

Victoria L.

Documentation Lead, Outreach

Interest Swimming, Painting, Crafting, Designing, Traveling
Fun fact I have been to NYC.I have been to Italy!
Why robotics? It's a good way to learn about the STEM field and have fun with friends.
Dream occupation Astrophysicist
Favorite book Explore the Universe book series published by World Book.

Peter D.

Code Lead

Interest Reading, baking, crocheting, painting, and chemistry.
Fun fact I used to live in Seattle and I play trombone.
Why robotics? I joined robotics because I want to get experience in coding and engineering for college and careers.
Dream occupation My dream occupation is a surgeon, biochemist, or civil chemist.
Favorite book My favorite book is The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity because it introduces interesting math concepts like infinity and their history.

Wyatt H.

Build Lead

Interest Music, Engineering, and Physics
Fun fact I am an All State Flautist
Why robotics? I like building robots and I've met some pretty cool people in FIRST
Dream occupation Auditory Physicist
Favorite book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, excellent character and story building, good humor

Leighton S.

Build, CAD

Interest I love doing art, kayaking, and going on camping/float trips on the Buffalo National River.
Fun fact I was born in New Orleans and lived there until I was 4 then moved to Mandeville.
Why robotics? I joined robotics because when I grow up I want to become a Robotic Engineer and thought joining the team would help foster the pursuit of my dream career. I also thought it would be a good experience for me and a good way for me to find people that I can become friends with and connect with.
Dream occupation My dream occupation is to become a Robotic Engineer.
Favorite book My favorite book is The Hunger Games because it has a perfect blend of suspense, action, and romance.

Taylor C.

Build, CAD

Interest Trombone, Robotics, Reading
Fun fact I have been to 35 US states
Why robotics? Because I thought it would be a fun experience and help me grow as a person.
Dream occupation I would love to be an engineer or a lawyer.
Favorite book The Artemis Fowl series by Eion Colfer because it has a great story line.

Abilyn K.

Code

Interest READING, Block Coding, Biking, Cooking, Sleeping
Fun fact I have an average of reading 20 books per week, school accounted for.
Why robotics? I love coding, and I missed getting to code a robot.
Dream occupation Graphic Designer/Website Designer
Favorite book I have like 3000000 favorite books, but 3 of my favorites are Keeper of the Lost Cities: Everblaze, Wings of Fire: Moon Rising, and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

Alumni

Julianne J.

2024-2025

INTO THE DEEP season logo with FTC lockup

Viraaj R.

2024-2025

INTO THE DEEP season logo with FTC lockup

Mentors & Boosters

Ms. Amy B.

Teacher Sponsor & Lead Mentor

Interest Baking, reading, hiking!
Fun fact I have an entire plan for when I win the lottery - I want to open an "all species" animal sanctuary.
Why robotics? Mr. Jon H. invited me to :)
Dream occupation National Geographic photographer
Favorite book New favorite is Circe by Madeline Miller - a modern retelling of a story from Greek mythology - because it is SO. BEAUTIFULLY. WRITTEN.

Mr. Jon H.

Teacher Sponsor & Lead Mentor

Interest Building video games
Fun fact I've been to Africa and spent a month sleeping on top of a buffalo truck and only had one bath in the Okavango Delta.
Why robotics? Why not robotics?
Dream occupation Teach robotics all day
Favorite book Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein because...

Mr. Ryan H.

Boosters President & Mentor

Interest Software Engineering, Controls, Electronics, Music
Fun fact Taught English in Japan
Why robotics? Making things move with code is super fun!
Dream occupation Software Engineer
Favorite book Difficult to pick just one, but invariably something Poirot from Agatha Christie

Ms. Kate G.

Boosters Treasurer & Mentor

Interest Running & Granny activities (sewing, crocheting, watching the birds in my backyard, working on my garden), generally making things
Fun fact I ran my first marathon this year and rode 2 roller coasters in the process of doing it.
Why robotics? I joined the booster club to support the team!
Dream occupation Something that allows lots of time off for traveling
Favorite book Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Ms. Sara V.

Boosters Secretary

Interest Crafting, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Reading
Fun fact I really was hoping the kids would figure out a way to sneak a rubber duck in as the team mascot
Why robotics? I wanted to contribute to our future generations to get the most out of STEM/STEAM as possible.
Dream occupation I am an Occupational Therapy Assistant
Favorite book My favorite book is forever shifting with where I am in life but I always return to the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. I think I reread them for the adventures and friendships that bond this diverse group of misfits.

Mr. Mike S.

Mentor

Interest Sports, AI, STEM
Fun fact I used to be a pretty serious amateur juggler.
Why robotics? The reward of seeing young people grow and reach their potential, and having the chance to be a positive influence in that journey
Dream occupation Pro golfer
Favorite book To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design by Henry Petroski

Mr. Brad V.

Mentor

Interest Warhammer 40k
Fun fact I've driven through all 48 continuous states.
Why robotics? To encourage the future generations to learn and explore
Dream occupation Astronaut
Favorite book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. I love the action and suspense with cutting edge technology tying it all together.

Mr. Matt G.

Mentor

Interest Coaching, fishing, and family BBQ get togethers...
Fun fact My birth certificate has the wrong Birthday on it!
Why robotics? Great opportunity to spend time with fun kids engaged in a challenging activity
Dream occupation A Lottery Winner.
Favorite book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!