Rockwall city council recognizes Robotics Week

ROCKWALL, TX – April 28, 2021 — During the Rockwall City Council meeting on April 5, 2021 Rockwall Mayor Jim Pruitt spoke on the importance of engaging young minds in STEM and pursuing STEM-related activities. The City of Rockwall recognized Robotics week by bringing attention to “activities aimed at increasing public awareness of the strength and importance of the U.S Robotics industry”. Students on Team 1296 – Full Metal Jackets from Rockwall High School created and mentor younger robotics teams including, FIRST Tech Challenge Team 17715 – Half Metal Jackets (middle school level team) and FIRST Lego League Explore Team 18788 – Full Metal Jackets Jr (elementary level team) to assist in the spread of STEM throughout our community. These teams strive to show that all ages can do STEM.

Pictured: Eva Kay Stewart is the EVP of Public Relations for Full Metal Jackets, a Junior at Rockwall High and mentors Half Metal Jackets on speaking to judges and documenting the engineering process in their engineering log. Nickolas Grato is a 2nd grader at Billie Stevenson Elementary and a 3 year member of the Full Metal Jackets Jr. team. Caden Buchanan is a 3rd grader at Hartman Elementary and a 3 year member of Full Metal Jackets Jr. team. Austin Taylor is the EVP of Robotics Operations for Full Metal Jackets, a Junior at Rockwall High and founder of both the Half Metal Jackets and Full Metal Jackets Jr. teams. He is the head mentor for both teams and leads them in the design and mechanical builds of their robots. Marc Hall is a homeschooled 3rd grader and a 1 year member of the Full Metal Jackets Jr. team. Mayor Jim Pruitt signed the proclamation. Max Watson is a 7th grader at William Middle School and a 1 year member of the Half Metal Jackets team. Nicholas Dodd is a 6th grader at Dobbs Elementary and a 1 year member of the Half Metal Jackets team. Cade Adams is the VP of Software for Full Metal Jackets, a Junior at Rockwall High and mentors the Half Metal Jackets on writing software to run the robot. Liam Sanderson is the VP of Safety for Full Metal Jackets, a Junior at Rockwall High and mentors the Half Metal Jackets in mechanical builds and team safety.

Submitted press release by Eva Kay Stewart, Team 1296 EVP of Public Relations.

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