Crescendo - 2024
Written By: Impact Team

16 years ago, Huskie Robotics began w/ 5 passionate pups. Today, we stand as a 125+ member close-knit Huskie pack. We strive to become leaders who inspire future innovators & make a sustained impact on our community & FIRST family. 

Leaving Paw Prints Behind
We play two games at once: maintaining current competitiveness & initiatives while establishing future team sustainability. Thru Keep-Fix-Try (KFT) meetings we document successes & lessons learned at events, enabling team metacognition. Frequently following pre-season, build season & sizable events, KFT’s ensure the future is linked w/ the past, sustaining the effects of team efforts across years.
Subteam training syllabi are revised yearly to aid new member integration during the pre-season. 40+ new members learn existing processes, gaining independent experience. Prior to this, we also do subteam speed-dating, w/ incoming members rotating thru subteams, introducing them to all team aspects. Weekly training refines skills of returning members & addresses the needs of new members. Flexibility allows members to move between subteams & explore multiple interests during their time as a Huskie, ensuring member engagement & longevity. 

Our Huskie Pack
Huskie Robotics goes beyond the simple nature of a robotics team. We are family. Meals at every team meeting promote conversation, create everlasting bonds & cultivate a positive social ecosystem. We uplift peers thru our Dedicated Dawgs initiative—members nominate each other for daily awards, celebrating each other’s achievements & demonstration of team values. These activities nurture connections between members & allow us to collaborate effectively & positively every meeting.
Another integral aspect of team meals is our comprehensive stand-up meeting. All feature project managers & subteam leads update the team on current status, reflecting on obstacles encountered & requesting guidance. This transparent environment keeps all Huskies updated on every aspect of the team. Stand-up meetings accelerate the identification of roadblocks, risks & solutions while enabling everyone to be involved w/ the team in a broader sense, sustaining & increasing each individual’s contribution & sense of belonging to the team.

Fostering PAWssionate Pups
We strengthen our Huskie pack & inspire the next generation of STEAM innovators thru School District 203’s (D203) FIRST pipeline. Growing from 21 to 42 elementary & junior high teams in 2 years, we have doubled our impact on young pups.
Our efforts begin each summer when Huskies volunteer in our district’s FLL camp, helping 240 students gain initial exposure in FIRST. We later run a Professional Development conference for 31 D203 coaches, providing them w/ targeted robot, core values, & project guidance. Trained in student-led FLL bootcamps, we mentor all 
42 teams, accumulating 370+ hours dedicated to serving 444 students. Teams SHOWcase their achievements & progress at our annual FLL competitions: a district competition for elementary school teams & a double qualifier where junior high teams compete amongst other state FLL teams. 
In 2022, the Naperville Education Foundation (NEF) recognized our efforts, providing our district w/ a 5-year $477k grant that enables us to continue sustaining & cultivating young FIRST Robotics innovators. Thru the establishment of our pipeline, we nurture the minds of our young pups & help them emerge as confident Huskies. 

Helping HusKEYS

Our desire for impact expands beyond our district & into the greater FRC community. Since 2021, we have continued enhancing SPOT, our open-source, modular scouting app. Teams can deploy the app w/ no prior experience or extend it w/ their custom specifications. SPOT provides an easy to use system that measures vital data for boosting team efficiency & function. We have encouraged 9+ teams to integrate SPOT into their scouting methods, sustaining our FRC impact beyond our district & empowering fellow teams w/ tools for greater success.
We push boundaries further by aiding other FIRST teams. 3061-lib, our software library, focuses on a swerve-based drivetrain & aids other FRC teams in robot development. Providing essential & foundational software for public use, it assists multiple teams & shares knowledge. 
As a new Open Alliance team, we share resources w/ the community, including training plans, robot design processes, leadership workshops & community outreach. We foster collaboration, ensuring our knowledge is not only sustained in our team but also within the greater FIRST community. 

Our Impact Barks
We enrich, inspire, & cultivate STEAM leaders by dedicating 1000+ hrs of outreach each season. Partnerships w/ community orgs such as Dupage Children’s Museum strengthen our mission, w/ long-standing relationships generating significant interest in STEAM among 450 youth. Chris Berg, former Public Programs Manager, stated that “when [children] see kids in their community participating in advanced robotics, they become inspired.”
Cultivating future generations is a crucial step in maintaining the longevity of our team. We annually visit Project Lead The Way (PLTW) classrooms in jr highs, educating 8th graders on the mission of FIRST & its various facets. From sharing info about preseason training to the complexities of kickoff & build season, we establish a community for young pups to feel comfortable, sustaining it & planning ahead for future years. Additionally, in collaboration w/ Scouts BSA, we annually run a booth w/ FIRST information & robot demos, encouraging visitors to join the FIRST family. We connected 36 families w/ nearby FLL teams at this year’s event, adding to our impact within our community & beyond. As a result of our efforts, 35% of our team this year has had previous FIRST experience.

UnLEASHING DEI
STEAM accessibility in our community is a priority. Joining the HuskyADAPT initiative at the University of Washington, we modify children’s toys w/ easy to use buttons to aid motor skill growth. Toy details were presented to D203 officials & distribution has begun on a trial basis. We plan to receive feedback & revise kits to cater to each student. We continue to expand & improve this initiative in our district, having already distributed 12 toys to special-needs classrooms.
Partnering w/ Treehouse Therapy Clinic, we invoke interest monthly in students w/ learning disabilities in FIRST & STEAM. Thru designing, building/coding FLL robots & catapults, students gain visible enthusiasm. One parent stated: “This is a fantastic program… I love that she gets a chance to learn in an environment that she feels engaged in.”
For 5 years, we have strengthened gender equity in STEAM. Supporting NCWIT’s Sit With Me movement, we bring the symbolic red chair to all events, documenting the experiences of 70+ women. Dedicated empowerment is reflected in our team’s 37.5% female leadership. Our yearly video consists of interviews w/ members, alumni & mentors. Viewed by corporate sponsors & the public, it empowers action: We sit down to stand up. 
We constantly work to diversify & expand inclusion efforts in our team. Establishing long-term supporters, we have been able to remove financial barriers & encourage members from varied backgrounds to join our pack. 

Corporate Canines
Sponsors are part of the Huskie pack; we recognize their integral role in sustaining our efforts. Emphasizing 3061’s student-led nature, students perform pitches unique & relevant to each company. This strategy has secured all partners since implementation, broadening our capabilities. We keep partners engaged w/ weekly updates on subteam progress & express gratitude by creating personalized gifts for each sponsor annually.
Over 9 years, we have cultivated a powerful two-way relationship w/ Molex. Assisting in the development of their FRC design guide, we provided CAD models & robot wiring photos to be featured in their guide. As a Kit of Parts (KoP) supplier, Molex has worked to make products accessible & useful to FRC teams. We work to help them understand how teams use their products, providing feedback on the Molex SL kit available in the KoP in 2020 & collaborating w/ them on their 2024 FIRST Choice Hand Tool Kit. By sharing our best practices & experiences w/ their connectors, we make an impact on fellow FRC teams while strengthening our relationship w/ Molex, ensuring ingenuity, innovation & sustainability for today & the future, playing 2 games at once.

Once a Huskie, a Huskie FURever
We actively include mentors in our endeavors, creating a collaborative environment where they provide active feedback & facilitate learning experiences. This has resulted in our mentors being Huskies for an average of 6 years. 
Our ability to remain a student-led team is supported by the dedication of 20 mentors. As subject-matter experts, they share industry best practices & provide insight on advanced topics, allowing students to approach tasks confidently. Their emphasis on capturing failures & successes prompts reflection, providing guidance rather than simply offering solutions. 
The knowledge fostered in our students on Huskie Robotics extends to their future, creating a brighter outlook as they join companies like Microsoft, Tesla & SpaceX. Alum Anaya reflects, “After being a part of FIRST for 9 years, the program has given me strong interpersonal & leadership skills that continue to apply to my pursuits beyond robotics”. Alumni continue to sustain FIRST impact; 30% are FRC mentors & volunteers at local competitions. 
Members never truly leave our Huskie Pack. Our alumni network, spanning LinkedIn, Facebook, & Discord, ensures that our family is always connected. Alums attend kickoff annually, seeing the efforts of their hard work, especially this season after our 2021 Game Design submission was implemented in this year’s game. Alums return to mentor us, demonstrating their forever dedication to our pack. Once a Huskie, a Huskie forever.