The following is the transcription of a speech delivered by head mentor Wayne Cokeley at a special pep rally held at North Brunswick Township High School in honor of Raider Robotix’s successes at the 2012 World Championship and the past 16 years. The speech accurately captures the spirit and motivation of the team.
We Are Raider Robotix
We are Raider Robotix and we build robots.
In six weeks every January, we take a pile of motors, metal, and computer parts to build a 130 pound radio controlled robot to play in the FIRST Robotics competition. We make them in Salge’s woodshop, Dhrolia’s computer lab, and the MRC (Media Resource Center). And we do this with thousands of hours of hard work under the guidance of many adult mentors who show us the way.
We are Raider Robotix and we build people.
98% of our graduates go on to college to pursue unique careers in engineering and technology fields. We have had valedictorians and salutatorians. Our alumni study in colleges across the nation and in the military. Raider students drive nuclear submarines, design medical diagnostic equipment, and work with NASA on the next Mars exploration robots. Raider Robotix graduates are changing the world for all of us. And we have barely scratched the surface of the $15 million of scholarship money that’s available to them.
We are Raider Robotix and we build pride.
Our team represents you, the students of NBTHS. The team is internationally known and renowned. We have won the New Jersey state championship 7 times in the past 12 years. We have made it to the national championship five times, been national finalists twice, and now national champions twice.
This year 2400 teams from across the world built robots to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition. These included teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Brazil, Australia, Taiwan, England, Germany, and many others. Last weekend the top 400 teams competed in the championship in St. Louis. Today we stand before you as the winners of that championship.
We are Raider Robotix and we build the future.
We do this with a passion for learning and a drive to compete. And we do it with Gracious Professionalism.
We are Raider Robotix, and foremost, we are North Brunswick.