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A common phrase mentioned by coaches, parents and members of the Omegabytes robotic team when they were in Houston, Texas recently for the international championship was, "We Belong Here."
The championship included 450 teams from across the United States and the World. Teams were from Silicon Valley, Ca. And NASA in Houston, research areas such as the NC Research Triangle and other large cities.
The 33-member REaCH/Rutherford County Schools Omegabytes (RCS) robotics team traveled to Houston from the most rural area in North Carolina, compared to the other 10 North Carolina teams competing.
Omegabytes is made up of students from REaCH, East, Chase and R-S Central and the team successfully advanced to the semi-finals on the international stage.
"Just the magnitude of the world stage ...35,000 people in the arena," said Coach Danny Smith during an interview recently where a few team members gathered with Rutherford Early College High School (REaCH) counselor Amy Cochran to talk about the trip. Smith is the IT/Technology teacher at REaCH and the Rutherford Opportunity Center (ROC).
It didn't take long for the Rutherford County students to earn the reputation of having the loudest and biggest cheering team in the entire 35,000 seat arena.
"They rose to the occasion. They showed others what we are made of here in North Carolina. It was a rare moment," Smith said. "There were a lot of rare moments"
Robotics team member Diego Romero-Rojas (co-captain) from REaCh just may have been the first of the Rutherford County group to explain, "We Belong Here" as they entered the competition arena in Houston for their first competition.
"We made it to the world with the best of the best," Diego said.
'We competed with teams that had $1 million budgets (for the program) and we "were just scraping by," said Smith. "But they rose to the occasion. They showed others what we are made of here in North Carolina. It was a rare moment."
Cochran was among the more than 20 adults making the trip to Houston.
"Just to see this group. We had a place at the table. I have seen them grow professionally over the year and this showed us that we have just as many opportunities as all the others," Cochran said.
The Omegabytes was the only North Carolina team to place in the semi-finals but when Rutherford County still on the competition floor, the other North Carolinians were still cheering.
"Even when we weren't competing, we were mentioned over the intercom," said co-captain Kasey Smith. "Everyone knew who we were."
The team's robot Overbyte was designed and built in six weeks at the robotics' team workshop at Isothermal Community College's new Workforce building. There are hundreds of moving parts that make up the robot and all the accessories.
When it was time to transport the robot to Texas, it was delicately placed in a parent's SUV rather than on the tour bus.
"There was no way we were going to put it on the bus.
But all the other hundreds of pieces of the robot were carefully packed in large containers and placed on the bus.
When Smith received notification that his Omegabytes team was going to Texas, he said they had exactly one week to try to get the money together for the trip all the other logistic for the team.
From transporting the 33-robotic team members across the country, finding transportation, lodging and food was a task.
Smith said he didn't fret but immediately began planning.
The day after learning they were invited to Texas, Smith received a telephone call. META/Facebook with a $50,000 grant to fund the trip. Team members received transportation, hotel rooms and all their meals, Smith explained. The others going to Texas received transportation and hotel costs.
During this year of building the robot and practicing for hours before several competitions, Coach Smith said the days were long for the students.
"We said we were like Chick-f-lay open every day but Sundays," Smith said. The team spent countless hours getting ready for local, regionals and state competition and yet knew they needed to keep up with their other school work.
"Being on the team made me have more incentive to work harder in my other classes," co-captain Kasey said her year.
She also said her perception of the team changed over the past months.
"Being on a team like this is for everyone. It's not just for the nerds or the smartest kid in the class. This is for everyone."
"All can participate," Smith chimed in. "Anyone can do this."
Cochran said seeing the team compete with students from NASA and Silicon Valley and largest areas proved to her that the opportunities for Rutherford County students are endless.
"We made it to the world with the best of them...Rutherford County students can have as many opportunities as anyone else," she said.
Team member Zachary Saraga, a student at the Rutherford Opportunity Center said the culture was quite different. "It was very different than what I am used to in North Carolina, so industrial. It was so different and we got so many ideas," he said.
Brayden Schalk of East Rutherford, said the trip was a great opportunity for students in Rutherford County.
"I enjoyed every moment of it...I am not one to be a team member, but being a member of Omegabtyes taught me to work as a team," he said.
Diane and Pete Dickerson of Rutherfordton were among parents who went to Texas and they went to cheer on their son Silas is a team member.
"I knew we belonged there," said Diane. "We ranked 97 percentile in the world," she exclaimed trying to control her excitement.
Some of the team members are seniors and many plan to study engineering in college.
The two seniors, Kasey and Diego, are headed off to NCSU. Diego will complete a year at Isothermal Community College before heading to NCSU.
The team also had an opportunity to meet students from around the world and interact with them. Kasey met a student from Turkey and they became quick friends and are best friends on Instagram.
Diego spent a long time conversing with a student from Israel.
"I could understand some of what he was saying," he quipped.
The long trip there and back allowed the team to visit two tourist destinations to help break up the two day trip there and back. On the way to Texas they stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi and went to the beach.
"Some of our students have never seen the ocean," Smith said.
Returning home, they visited the Space Center in Houston.
Cochran said she remembers Landen Proctor's comments when they entered the Space Center.
"I can't believe I'm at the NASA Space Center. I never imagined I'd get to be at the NASA Space Center," he said.
The season's successes fuel the Omegabytes' mission: to transform their community by fostering a sense of hope for the futures of children and families through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) and STEAM career awareness and education.
Now that they're home, they will not stop. They will continue with their "Community Outreach" programs.
The robot is a vehicle for engaging a diverse population of youth in fun and exciting educational experiences made possible by the long-term relationships the team is building with their county's Title 1 public elementary schools, local community centers, and other partner organizations across the various sectors of the community, Smith explained. Team members are Gracie Allred, Brady Anders, Fletcher Baccus, Morgan Beheler, Ryan Bennett, Reid Condrey, Jonas Conner, Silas Dickerson, Amaka Enerorji, Samantha Friot, Logan Greene, Alissa Griffin, Mackenzie Hernandez, Casey Lyda, Jack McBrayer, Jimmy McCosker, Kayla McDowell, Tony McKinney, Andrea Mendoza-Paredes, Matthew O'Steen, Selena Prescott, Landen Proctor, Benjamin Roach, Diego Romero-Rojas, Abigail Roof, Zachary Saraga, Brayden Schalk, Tristan Simon, Kasey Smith, Emily Walters and Carleigh Williams.
