Engineering students to mentor high school students at FIRST Robotics Invitational

Engineering students from Grand Valley State University will serve as mentors for high school students participating in the 2010 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) West Michigan Robotics Invitational on October 9 at Zeeland West High School, 3390 100th Ave. in Zeeland.

More than 600 people are expected to attend the one-day event, which is free and open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The invitational, supported by Grand Valley, aims to prepare, inspire and excite statewide high school students competing in the FIRST Robotics West Michigan Regional Competition that Grand Valley will host in March. Engineering students from Grand Valley’s Padnos College of Engineering and Computing will be at the event to provide support, offer advice and foster encouragement to the high school students.

More than 20 statewide teams are participating in the invitational. Robots from last year’s competition will compete head-to-head as an example of what’s to come in March.

Grand Valley has supported The FIRST West Michigan Robotics Invitational since 2006. The annual competition provides high school students the opportunity to learn how to be science and technology leaders. The competition connects high school students to colleges, sponsors, engineers and technology professionals through an engineering challenge in a competitive and creative environment.

For more information about FIRST or the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit www.usfirst.org or contact [email protected].