Team Members:
Allen
Team President
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Allen’s bio!
Rachel
Head of Outreach Coordination
Student at Steller Secondary School
Rachel is a senior at Steller Secondary School in Anchorage, Alaska. She has been on FRC team 568 for 2 years. When she is not at robotics or school, she is an avid baker, rock climber, and musician. Rachel will attend Western Washington University starting Fall 2018 to pursue a degree in accounting and fraud auditing. “I truly appreciate that robotics allowed me to explore facets of my interest that were previously unexplored.”
Caden
Programmer
Student at Polaris
Caden is a sophomore at Polaris K-12, and is a serious FIRST veteran. He has been doing First since kindergarten, and has is now on the FRC team for his second year. He is always volunteering with FLL and FTC events, and is generally very involved in FIRST. He loves to code in C#, Java, and Python, which is why he helps with the programming of the robot and of the simulations. He plans to go to college for either computer science or biotechnology. His other hobbies include writing, Pokemon, and the outdoors.
Iain
Simulation Developer
Student at East Anchorage High School
Ian loves soccer, video games, and eating Asian cuisine! He started robotics in kindergarten and has continued all the way up to this point. He has set a world record in FTC and has recently joined FRC to help with the simulation of the game. He is a sophomore and plans on continuing with computer science later in life and maybe some video game design.
Chad
Build and Simulations member
Student at Steller Secondary School
Chad is a senior at Steller Secondary School and a third year FRC veteran. He plans on becoming a math major and loves to hike with friends. “I love the incisiveness of FIRST and how it brings members of the community together in ways that they wouldn’t normally meet”
Wyatt
Head Builder
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Wyatt’s bio!
Erica
Build and Outreach member
Student at Alaska Middle College
Stay tuned for Erica’s bio!
Lawton
CAD and Build member
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Lawton’s bio!
Tyler
Build member
Student at Bartlett High School
Stay tuned for Tyler’s bio!
Nate
Programer member
Student at Dimond High School
Nate has 2 years of FRC experience. FRC has broadened his interest in STEM fields and he plans on continuing his education in the field of biochemistry. In his spare time he loves to fiddle around with computers and code.
Nikira
Team Vice President
Student at Dimond High School
Nikira is a Junior at Dimond High School. This is her fourth year participating in FIRST and her third year on the FRC team. She enjoys fishing, gardening, beekeeping, and all things that include farm animals. Nikira loves engineering and hopes to go to college for agricultural engineering.
BIrch
Head of CAD, Outreach member
Student at Polaris
A senior at Polaris K–12 School, Birch is wrapping up a career in FIRST that begin in Kindergarten. Since then, he has participated in all four levels of FIRST programs and attended State, Super-Regional, and World Championships events. Notably, he was a Dean’s List Finalist in 2016, the same year his FTC team set a world record, and has personally mentored six FLL teams and four FLL Jr. teams. Now, encouraged by his experiences in FIRST, and confident that FRC 568 will continue a strong tradition, he intends to move on to studying mechanical and robotics engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Chris
Lead Driver
Student at Eagle River High School
Chris is a senior at Eagle River High School. This is his fourth year participating in First, but his first year doing FRC. Besides devoting his life to robotics, he enjoys hiking and skiing and hanging out with all of his robotics friends. Chris is a Dean’s List finalist in the 2016-2017 FTC season, and went down to Houston to participate in the First Championship. Chris will be attending Montana State, with a goal to major in Aviation. “First inspired me to pursue a STEM related field, and I feel robotics played a major role in determining what I have a passion for.”
josh
Build member
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Josh’s bio!
Orion
Build member
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Orion’s bio!
Russell
Build member
Student at Bartlett High School
Stay tuned for Russell’s bio!
Alex
Build member
Student at Dimond High School
Stay tuned for Alex’s bio!
Vincent
Programmer
Student at Bartlett High School
Vincent is currently a Junior at Bartlett High School and I am part of the programming team. I want to learn how to program so I can have a better understanding of it once I major in Computer Systems Engineering at UAA. Whenever I’m not in school or doing after school activity or robotics, I enjoy reading, playing video games, and especially working out.
ZAch
Strategy and Design member
Student at North Pole High School
Stay tuned for Zach’s bio!
Will
Building and Design member
Student at Service High School
Will started doing FIRST in the 7th grade. A highlight since then was going on to place 3rd in state in 8th grade. He is currently participating in FTC on top of FRC. He cares about politics and likes expensive cajun food.
Nerdlets:
Mitchell
Mitchell has had 5 years of FLL experience and 1 year in FTC. He hopes to be a builder when he joins the team. Mitchell loves to design on computers.
Eric
Eric has had 5 years of experience with FLL. His goal is to be an engineer and video editor on for team 568. Eric has a deep understanding and love for video editing.
Darin
Darin has 8 years of hard work and dedication in several FIRST programs. He wants to be a programer when he joins the team. Darin has a deep love for programing and solved the gyro problem in FLL.
Griffin
Stay tuned for Griffin’s bio!
Mentors:
Wade Roach
Team Coach
Engineering & Biology Teacher
Dimond High School
Mr. Roach has been the coach of FRC team 568 for 18 years. He has coached all of the FIRST programs (JFLL, FLL, FTC, and FRC). His is a high school engineering and biology teacher in Anchorage, Alaska. “The world is quite different ever since the robotic uprising of the late nineties, but human uniqueness will triumph. Stay tuned…”
Danny Tix
Programming Mentor
Municipality of Anchorage
Danny has been working with team 568 since 2007. His goal is to establish Alaska as a hub for innovative technology.
Will Goolsby
Team Mentor
Vicki Nechodomu
Outreach & Communications Mentor
K-12 STEM Outreach Coordinator
UAA College of Engineering
Vicki has been involved with FTC and FLL as a coach and numerous volunteer roles since 2007, and she is excited to be adding FRC robotics to the mix this year! She is passionate about mentoring youth in developing both technical and creative skills through FIRST robotics, and nurturing those interests into academic and career pursuits.
Dale Rooney
CAD & 3D Printing Mentor
Anchorage Maker Space
Stay tuned – Mr. Rooney’s bio is coming soon!
Tina Lane
Team Mentor
Tina is the mother of Nikira and acts as the team’s seamstress and occasional lunch provider. She graduated from Oregon State University(Go Beavs!!) with a degree in construction engineering management. Like Nikira she loves to garden and spend time with all of the farms animals.
RiCk Koch
Team Mentor
Stay tuned – Mr. Koch’s bio is coming soon!