Team 321, RoboLancers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA was honored to win the 2023 FIRST Championship FIRST Impact Award in Houston, Texas.

The mission of the RoboLancers is to inspire and prepare the next generation of STEM leaders in Philadelphia. In 2023, the team supported 130+ inner city FIRST teams through a combination of funding, mentorship, coach training, workshops, and competition resources. The RoboLancers aim to build bridges that cross the unique barriers to STEM education within their community and are dedicated to creating equitable opportunities in STEM.

The team founded the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to further streamline their work. The team connects with their community by running programs in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation. In the 2022-23 school year alone, RoboLancers members dedicated over 5,000 hours volunteering in support of their mission. The RoboLancers strive to create a thriving STEM ecosystem within Philadelphia by running a multitude of events, establishing institutional knowledge, and fostering a collaborative community.

To learn more about the RoboLancers, the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, their programs and mission, please visit RoboLancers.com and RoboticsCoalition.org, or follow them on social media or contact them at info@robolancers.com.

FIRST Impact Award presentation, executive summaries, essay, video, judging materials, and documentation binder: Robolancers.com FIRST Impact Award 2023

 Team Video

Abigail

Abigail has been an exemplary leader on the RoboLancers, making an impact in many roles. As vice president she advocated for her teammates, standing up for what she believed in, to make the team more cohesive and inclusive. As assistant mechanical lead she fostered an environment where the members of her team could propose and test design ideas, and refine them together into a working module. As a mentor for a FIRST LEGO League team, she supported students in a challenging environment and had a real positive impact on their success. As an event volunteer she made competition a welcoming and inviting space for the competitors. As seamstress, she designed and crafted fun goooose costumes and plushes to complement the team’s robot imagery. Abigail pursues excellence while also opening the door for those around her, she embodies the FIRST Core Values and will carry that ethos forward into college and beyond.