Community Corner

Riverhead Teens Rock In Robotics Competition

Second place winners built a robot.

It all started with a robot named Robo Blitz.

Using hard work, intelligence and creativity, three Riverhead High School students, Perla Leon, Nylejah Green and Jessica Jarez-Lopez -- as well as Dale Samuel, who is home schooled -- took home a second place prize in the New York Science and Technology Entry Partnership (STEP) Robotics Competition.

The event took place on March 30 in Albany; the team came in second out of 11 competing teams. Each of the three young women who won have been involved with robotics since the 7th grade.

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"We were really excited when we found out we placed second," said Perla. "It was really fun to build and program our robot."

The robot was designed using Lego Mindstorms software and bult out of Legos; the team programmed him to take a ball out of a basket, move to another basket, and drop the ball into the basket.

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Each team member performed different tasks, utiliizing industrial, mechanical, electrical and computer engineering skills.

"I'm really proud of these girls, and i love it that they did so well," said the girls' science teacher, Claire Yannacone, who is also the Riverhead High School STEP advisor.

Robotics teams have been taking top honors on the East End in recent years; last April, members of the won the Top Seeded Rookie Award in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Long Island Regional Competition at Hofstra University.

Riverhead teens involved in the the STEP program enrolled in Saturday enrichment courses led by college faculty; the array of classes included communications, life skills, career awareness, leadership skills, computer applications, mathematics and biology, earth science, engineering, physics and robotics.

High school student receive mentoring from college level participants in the CSTEP program. 

The win wasn't the first for the dynamic trio of young women -- last year, when they were in the 9th grade, they took home honoors for their science projects at another STEP science fair.

Science teacher, Claire Yannacone, is the RHS STEP Advisor."I'm really proud of these girls, and i love it that they did so well," stated Ms. Yannacone.


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