You’ve heard of Great Neck South’s Rebel Robotics team, most likely about the plethora of awards they win or the many hours they spend at school (or missing school!). We know them as one of South High’s most successful, long-lasting programs. But what led them to this point? It’s certainly more than just a couple of nuts and bolts.
Robotics at South High exists in two domains: a full-year course and an after-school program. The Robotics class earns students college credit and provides skills for the Robotics season.
Rebel Robotics, also known as Team 2638, was founded in 2007 by business and Technology department head John “Motch” Motchkavitz, and shop teacher Matthew Corrigan. Team 2638 annually competes at the FIRST Robotics Competition, which consists of Regional and World competitions. For the past two years, South High has qualified for Worlds in Houston, Texas, for a total of 10 times in the past 16 years.
Each year, all participating teams build one robot to compete in a newly designed game, which changes annually. Even though competitions do not take place until late February, the kickoff to the build season begins in January and lasts for six to eight weeks. To “stay ahead of the curve,” members have been working since this past summer to gain a head start in preparing for the season. They are currently testing a new propelling system, Swerve Drive, which improves the agility and movement of the robot.
Of the 130 committed students in the program, approximately 50 will travel to Pittsburgh, PA; Hofstra University; and Huntsville, AL, for this year’s Regionals. To accomplish this, 13 subcommittees work together throughout the entire year. Even now, avid members visit the shop during their lunch and free periods. “You don’t build a house overnight; it takes time to lay the foundation and build the walls. The same goes for Robotics,” Motch said.
In 2022 and 2023, the team received the Engineering Inspiration Award, which is given to those who have spread the influence of STEM to their local community. They also received the Excellence in Engineering Award last year, a technical award for thorough documentation of the engineering process. In 2022, they were also given the Impact Award, an extremely selective award that serves as automatic qualification for Worlds and covers the $5,000 entrance fee. This past year, they also placed as finalists in one of the robot competitions and received a $5,000 NASA grant and a $6,000 Optimum grant, the latter of which they also received to help fund this upcoming season.
Undoubtedly, a major aspect of Robotics is competition. Yet, the ideas of “gracious professionalism” and “coopertition” are heavily emphasized. Trademarked by FIRST, “coopertition” encourages “teams [to] help and cooperate with each other, even as they compete.” As opposed to dominating the entire field, South High aims to help raise the performance levels of other Robotics teams. “You would almost be happy when you’re playing against a weaker team. Here, you want to make the weaker team better,” Mr. Corrigan said.
Through the Gold Coast Alliance, Team 2638 locally accomplishes “coopertition” by partnering with 13 other Long Island schools in sharing Robotics knowledge. Internationally, they have also collaborated with teams from Israel, Mexico, Canada, England, Turkey, and China.
This past March, South High hosted a Taiwanese robotics team, providing a space to ship and assemble their robot.
As students work year-round to prepare for competitions, often staying until midnight, team bonding occurs naturally. Senior Beatrice Malfi, leader of Awards and co-leader of Outreach and Fundraising, says, “You join a group of people that become more than friends, even family members. You are surrounded by your peers, eating dinner [together], watching your best friend drive the robot to victory. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to just be with them.”
Robotics isn’t just a place for those interested in pursuing a STEM major. Senior Bernice Wong, leader of Digital and Social Media, as well as a co-leader in Awards, Outreach, and Safety, explains, “Robotics is such a collaborative community. All of our members truly want to include everyone.”
Yet, there is something more that comes from being a part of Robotics. Motch said, “The students are building a robot. But in a sense, the robot is building good students.”
