S.P.A.M. (Speed, Power, and Maneuverability) is a team of highly motivated and ambitious high school students from all of Martin County (FL) mentored by adults employed in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and various other professions and occupations. We pride ourselves in creating competitive robots to participate in robotics competitions organized by FIRST®, an organization founded by esteemed inventor Dean Kamen and distinguished MIT professor emeritus Woodie Flowers, to inspire students to get involved in STEM careers. Our robots are built in six weeks and perform in mostly sports-inspired challenges. We are presented with a set of rules and guidelines from which we build the robot from the ground up. We use specialized sub-teams to design, fabricate, assemble, program and test a fully-functioning robot in this time as an extracurricular activity.
More than robots
In this 6-week build season, S.P.A.M. teaches more than just “how to build a robot.” We learn to work with limited time and resources while gaining the skills and experiences necessary to pursue jobs in the STEM fields and lead us into successful futures. We build leadership skills by working with mentors as only a guideline, giving the students ample opportunity to contribute to the team independently. We are able to sustain our program through the generous donations and sponsorships of local and national businesses, organizations and individuals.
S.P.A.M. gives back by practicing “gracious professionalism”, a concept developed by Dr. Flowers, where we encourage all students on the team to assist other teams in any way necessary so all participants are able to compete with their robots — such as lending other teams equipment or spare parts. We are also actively involved with students in our community spreading the message of the importance of STEM education. We host FLL (FIRST LEGO League) tournaments for elementary and middle school students–the largest in the state. And we use our expertise to teach younger students about robotics and STEM subjects in our annual VEX Robotics Summer Camps and FLL Summer Camps. S.P.A.M. has accomplished our goal of placing FIRST teams in every school in the Martin County School District.