This year, the BectoBots Team Collective has dominated all competition and truly risen to the top. They have received a number of awards and honors, among those being the “Highest Score by An Alliance” as well as being ranked #3 overall in robotics (in regard to regional competitions). These accomplishments really showcase the talent and passion these team members have. In fact, high school junior and BectoBots member Tim Pineda, has been selected as a semi-finalist for making the Dean’s List at NJFTC. In order to receive this award, one has to hit all of the following criteria:

-Demonstrated leadership and commitment to FIRST Core Values

-Effectiveness at increasing awareness of FIRST in their school and community 

-Interest in and passion for a long-term commitment to FIRST Core Values

-Overall individual contributions to their team 

-Technical expertise and passion 

-Entrepreneurship and creativity

-Ability to motivate and lead fellow team members

Pineda himself explains further on how to receive the reward, “a coach from our team is required to compose an essay about my leadership, character, abilities, and general contribution to the team. Then I had to answer questions about my character and how I guided my squad this year in front of a group of evaluators.” Pineda was named a semi-finalist in the tournament, which took place on Sunday, Feb. 26. The BectoBots finished 2nd in the Design Challenge as a team, and 5th altogether out of 22 teams. This enabled the BectoBots to “captain the ship” and form teams for the “playoffs.” During the playoffs, four leaders choose alliances or teammates for the goal that the BectoBots play. Unfortunately, the BectoBots were eliminated in the semi-finals due to an unfortunate wire failure, but it was the first time the BectoBots had advanced this far! Members of the BectoBots attribute these victories to Pineda, which goes to show the amount of support that the BectoBots family provides fellow members! In regard to Pineda’s award, all of his fellow teammates have also congratulated him for getting this high honor, and he has certainly earned it based on what he does for the team.

Tim first joined the robotics “squadron”, as he put it as, as a Junior last year. Mackanin, the coordinator of the BectoBots, spoke about her first meeting of Pineda as follows: “I sensed he was going to change the dynamic of our squad the minute he arrived. We had mostly seniors in control of constructing, planning, and coding the robot at the moment. Tim soon became someone on whom the seniors depended on because he was so invested in everything we were doing.” Pineda enthusiastically got to work and read up on robotics– showcased especially after having assisted in the design of a replacement arm. This on its own left an indelible impact on the BectoBots. He also introduced a “fresh energy” to the squadron as Mackanin put it. He was upbeat and driven.  He posed queries and promptly provided answers. Pineda arrived with no previous information, which in itself goes to show that if you put your mind to something, you can really achieve it.

Having interviewed Mackanin and a multitude of the BectoBots members, she recalled that the BectoBots began with mostly sophomores and freshmen this year because the majority of the team was seniors last year. It was clear nobody had any prior knowledge.  Nobody knew how to construct, write, or perform any of the engineering tasks. However, Pineda stepped up to “fill the hole the seniors left” as Mackanin puts it.  He dedicated himself to learning how to construct and code the robot using FTC (First Tech Challenge) YouTube videos and other internet tools. He is the BectoBots’ primary technician and programmer. He runs all meetings and arranges everyone’s duties. As reported by Mackanin, the BectoBots will end the year with Tim and Nina Podkalicka leading coding and 3D printing classes for the remainder of the participants.

Despite the season’s conclusion, the BectoBots had their most profitable season in team history, according to coach Mackanin. The BectoBots finished ninth out of 40 teams in the overall division (Northern New Jersey). The BectoBots is a developing robotics squad that improves year after year. Pineda hopes the BectoBots progress to the state championships next year and that they will continue to learn and grow.