The Nerds of the North

2018 Team

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

Will Goolsby is from Eagle River, Alaska.  He has an Engineering degree from Texas A&M University and is a 9 year Air Force Veteran.  Will has spent the last 20 years as a commercial airline pilot, flying passengers and cargo around the world.   His involvement in FIRST began 4 years ago with FTC Cascade Effect, and he’s been a coach/mentor for teams who have attended 2 FTC West Super Regionals and a World Championship.  Most recently, he has found enjoyment serving as a Judge for Relic Recovery at the League Championship, Regional Qualifiers, and the Alaska State Tournament.  Will has  also mentored FRC Team 568 Nerds of the North in this year’s game, Power Up. His main roles this year have been travel planning and mentoring students in fund raising, grant proposals and sustainability.
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!