Powering Down for the Season: FORA’s Robotics Recap
- giuliannal
- 25 minutes ago
- 4 min read
BY Ari Schutter and Giulianna Larson
Last weekend, FORA’s Robotics team successfully closed out their fifth official season at Chicago’s Von Steuben VEXV5 Invitational Tournament. Participating in three local competitions and one showcase hosted at FORA, season highlights include two FORA middle schoolers receiving the VEX Judges Award, FORA’s two high school teams tying for third place at Von Steuben’s Invitational, and one of our middle school reaching the semifinals of the Great Lakes Middle School Invitational.
Once an informal group which gathered on Sundays in a storefront on Devon Avenue, FORA’s Robotics team has grown to support thirty-six middle and high school students interested in learning about robotics design as well as developing leadership skills.
Denis Roarty, a retired civil engineer and middle school science teacher, has been FORA’s lead Robotics coach since 2021 and has witnessed the growth of the team from the beginning.
“We met on Sunday mornings and we all learned what worked and what didn't work together,” Roarty said. “What has been great about this year is that many of the high school students were super independent. They designed, built and programmed their robots without any input from me.”
FORA’s Robotics team utilizes a program called VEX Robotics to teach team members how to build complex robots to complete various tasks, such as collecting foam balls and distributing them to a different location.
Each year, VEX Robotics chooses a theme to determine a baseline design and purpose of the robots. This theme largely influences the desired functions of the robots and how they are judged at tournaments. Students work in pairs to program and troubleshoot problems before and during competition.
Be the reason another child catches up to grade level and finds meaning in and beyond the classroom.
Competing at multiple competitions throughout the season allows students to improve their robots based on performance and judges’ feedback. Coach Roarty cites this opportunity for mid season development as the reason for one of his favorite memories from this year.
He said in January FORA’s High School team discovered their robots were less functional than they thought while competing at a tournament in Niles, leading them to a low ranking. However, with a few weeks to rebuild and improve before their next competition, “Both teams seemed to get stronger after each match and worked their way up in the standings,” Roarty said.
According to Roarty, some of the common problems students navigate are developing soft skills and learning to work together.
“Students need to learn to work with each other as a team and all that that entails,” he said. “As a group they need to focus, to communicate, to plan, and to prioritize. It’s very different from working as an individual or from what they do in school all day.”
Despite many challenges, FORA’s teams made notable achievements at competitions.
At their first competition of the season, both FORA High School teams placed in top twenty and made it to round 16 in Playoffs at the Niles High School Tournament.
At the Great Lakes Middle School Invitational, one FORA middle school team made it to the semifinals.
Two FORA middle school girls, who were new members on the team this year, received the VEX Judges Award, a prestigious award recognizing the students for their outstanding effort and commitment.
At the last competition of the season, FORA’s two high school teams tied for third place at Von Steuben’s Invitational.
Jake Schwartz, FORA’s Director of High Impact Tutoring, worked closely with the team throughout the season. He said this season was marked by the students unwavering commitment and persistence to keep moving forward even when they faced barriers.
“More than anything else, this season to me demonstrated the power of perseverance and stepping out of your comfort zone,” Schwartz said. “Those who were among the highest performers, and who enjoyed robotics the most, were the newest and youngest members of VEX this year.”
When FORA high school senior Moe joined robotics in 2021, she was the only girl to do so. Throughout her time on the team, Moe has built about four robots and won two coveted Judges Award with her partner in 2025. This year was her last official year of robotics at FORA, as she prepares to graduate high school this spring and head to Grinnell College next fall for engineering.
However, Moe has no intentions of leaving robotics behind.
“I’m really sad it’s over, but I'm hoping to join similar activities when I go to college,” she said.
Over the last 5 years, more and more girls have joined the team. Now, FORA’s robotics team has eleven girls on its team, many of whom have made great strides since joining. Coming into the male-dominated robotics field can be difficult, as some girls even feel robotics, “Isn’t what girls do.”
This year, two of our middle school girls who had priorly expressed this feeling were awarded the same special Judges Award Moe won the year prior.
Najma, one of the students who won the award, explained how happy she felt at the competitions this year.
“I felt excited because it was my first time doing robotics.”
When reflecting on how it feels to see more girls join the robotics team, Moe said, “Every time I see the new female team members picking up their stuff and working on their materials it makes me so happy. I'm so glad they have this opportunity.”
Robotics at FORA continues to help students expand their educational opportunities, while also helping them develop creative problem solving, teamwork, and real world technical application skills.
Moe’s advice for future Robotics students is simple: “Always break it down into steps and it will become very easy. Robotics is not hard. Once you know the basics, everything builds up.”
As FORA’s Robotics program continues to grow, so does its need for support. While the tutors and staff members have been incredibly helpful in fostering Robotics, few have the technical experience to mentor new students. FORA is on the lookout for committed volunteers to join the Robotics team. If you or someone you know are interested in learning the technical details of Robotics and are available for a couple Fridays a month, consider reaching out to FORA’s Director of Outreach, Alia Mnayer (@aliam@refugeefora.org).
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