Making an Impact in the Off-Season

To continue our goal to spend time trying to improve the team along with the community, the Foley Freeze always has something going on from cleaning the build room to hosting engineering-related events. It’s easy to lose track of what happens within Foley Freeze in the off-season, so let’s do a quick recap! 

Over the months leading up to this year’s kick-off, Foley Freeze participated in a girls’ competition between teams in FIRST, hosted FIRST Lego League (FLL) for younger grades, and made progress in our goal to redesign the pit.

At the girls’ competition, Foley Freeze competed against other FIRST teams where only the girls were working down in the field and the guys worked in the pit. The game was Rapid React from the previous season. Foley Freeze went all the way to the quarter-finals in an alliance with the EngiNERDS.

“I was the operator for the team; I really enjoyed it,” said Laura Hull, a Foley Freeze senior who helped lead the alliance through the elimination rounds. “I really liked the sisterhood of all the girls there.” 

In addition to participating in a competition away from home, the Freeze also had the chance to host an event themselves at Bishop Foley Catholic (BFC), their home school. FIRST Lego League gives younger grades a chance to gain experience in FIRST competitions before they enter high school. 22 local grade school teams competed with their own robots, presented to earn various awards, and had the opportunity to apply FIRST Core Values in a hands-on environment.

Foley Freeze is focusing on using its social media platforms and participation in FIRST events to spread awareness about mental health to as many people as possible. This year, Bishop Foley Catholic, our home school,  has tried to spread awareness about mental health and for our students and the surrounding community to learn that they can reach out to trusted individuals for help. At the end of October, the school had a 10-lap walk to spread awareness. Participants wore different colors to represent different mental illnesses. Fur Angels, a Michigan-based non-profit group, visited with three different therapy dogs and allowed the students to come in and spend time with them. Posters were put up in classrooms and hallways with information on different types of disorders and advice on how to cope with them. 

The Foley Freeze is looking forward to the new upcoming season. As the season has now started, social media platforms will be updated regularly on what our team is doing to prepare for competitions. Feel free to follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook where this information will be posted, and continue to read the Glacial Gazette for more info on when and where competitions are happening. We are ready to “chill” you to the bone with our electrifying robot!