Community Partner Highlight- Power Hawks Robotics

This month, your Arundel Rivers Education team is delighted to introduce a youth-led partner group: the Power Hawks, FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 1111! The Power Hawks team is a co-curricular afterschool program based out of South River High School whose mission is to inspire future generations through competitive robotics and introduce students to FIRST® and its values. But these students don’t just build a 115-pound, multi-functional robot for the competition season (like that’s any small feat!). They are incredibly active in the community, and work to foster a wealth of personal and professional skills within their club members while also uplifting the values of community service and camaraderie. 

The Power Hawks and Arundel Rivers Federation are partners on a Chesapeake Bay Trust- Chesapeake Oyster Alliance Oyster Innovation grant. The incredible student team, with the support of their mentor, Ronny Ashley, and other professionals in STEAM fields, have designed and built an oyster-reef-monitoring submersible bot. Dubbed “Lil Blue Heron,” the bot is capable of tethered navigation underwater, taking video footage, taking water quality measurements, and manipulating materials with a grasping arm attachment. “Lil Blue Heron” will take its maiden river voyage later this month, exploring our Marylanders Grow Oyster reef in Glebe Bay. 

Want to help this great organization out? The Power Hawks are looking for mentors and new board members for their nonprofit, which is vital in funding the team and supporting student-led projects. If you have experience in fundraising, engineering, skill development, and more, please reach out to ronnyashley@powerhawks.org. The team also is always looking for sponsors; more information can be found on their website.