Rockwall High School students from FRC Team 1296 the Full Metal Jackets recently attended the 2018 National Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C to advocate for STEM funding on Capitol Hill.
The conference was attended by President Lauren Knoff, FIRST Alum Brandon Taylor, VP of Robotics Construction Joshua Sadler and team members Austin Taylor and Andrew Ortiz.
The conference was attended by just over 40 FRC teams from across the nation, with six teams from Texas.
During the 2-day conference, students listened to talks from multiple speakers including Steve Hyer, Dr. Jeffrey Weld, FIRST President Don Bossi, Erin Duncan and Camron Razdar. They learned the important process of creating and passing bills. Students were also taught the basics of talking to members of Congress.
The team, along with other FIRST Texas teams met with Texas Senators John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz and had the opportunity to show them the incredible power of STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). The team also met with Representative John Ratcliffe to discuss the need for more STEM workers. Congressman Ratcliffe was overjoyed to learn that the team had been working to solve problems that were discussed with him the previous year.
For more on the Rockwall HS Robotics Team, the Full Metal Jackets, visit www.RockwallRobotics.com.
Story by Josh Sadler, VP Robotic Construction
