With almost 20 years under its belt, the Orlando Regional is a great place for Regional Directors and Affiliate Partners to learn about some of the tips and tricks of running an event. This year the team was joined by the FIRST Tech Challenge Affiliate Partner for the Netherlands. Marieke Peelen was here to see some of the ins and outs of a FIRST Robotics Competition, with the intention of trying an event in Europe in the future.
Fortunately, the weekend wasn't all about work. She got the opportunity to talk to teams from all over the country, see the two FIRST Robotics Competition teams from the Netherlands compete on the field and even witness one team make it to the winning alliance, securing a spot at the Championship in Houston in April.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.