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12/13/2017 07:30 AMWhen Kaitlyn Sandor visited the Apple Pi robotics club, the team’s mentors were especially eager for her join the group—not just because they’re dedicated to fostering a passion for science and technology. Kaitlyn was the only girl.
Fast forward two years and thanks to a concentrated effort to encourage more girls to try out science, technology, engineering, and math—commonly known as STEM—Kaitlyn is no longer the lone female in the workshop. A junior at Daniel Hand High School (DHHS), she is the co-captain of Apple Pi, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Team 2067, which includes high school students from Madison, Guilford, and Branford.
“At Apple Pi, we have 60 members and we build four-feet tall, 140-pound robots that are designed to complete a specific challenge, like stacking boxes or shooting a ball. During the year, we train our team up and then we receive a challenge brief and have six weeks to build the robots.”
The lack of girls on the Apple Pi team motivated Kaitlin and working with the team’s mentors, she developed a Girls in STEM Strategy. From this plan came the annual Girls in STEM event, held in Guilford at the end of the summer, giving girls in middle school the opportunity to sample fun activities and experiments in all key STEM areas.
“The girls really love the event! We built a Rube Goldberg machine where we took stuff from around the house and used them to create a chain reaction that completes a task, in this case it was to pop a balloon. It’s engineering, but really it’s about coming up with a creative way to solve a problem,” Kaitlyn says.
“Our technology task was using the object that makes your mobile phone vibrate. We taped them to solo cups with markers attached and, as it vibrated, the machine decorated their art boxes with patterns. It’s so cool to show girls what STEM can be.”
Based upon her firsthand experience, Kaitlyn says that many young girls are very interested in STEM, but lose confidence in their own abilities.
“This year, 33 percent of the robotics club are girls so it’s really exciting. We have a program for middle school students and that’s 50/50 girls and boys, but in STEM, we lose lots of girls in grade 8 or grade 9,” she says.
“You hear young girls says it’s too hard or they don’t feel confident trying out STEM. We want them to know that everyone starts out not knowing anything, but we are here to help out, to teach them. Most of all, it’s fun.”
At Apple Pi, Kaitlyn is the lead programmer and strategy scout, as well as heading the community outreach team. The group competes its robots in strategic challenges, collecting data on each competitor and creating alliances. For the past four years, Apple Pi has qualified for the world championships and in its most successful outing brought home a ranking of 104 out of 3,140 teams.
“Robotics is so creative and the opportunities so open. It’s much more than building machines. When you see your robot move for the first time, it’s so exciting,” Kaitlyn says.
“We have lots of different kids in our robotics team and we all work together and have fun. You need good strategy, communication, leadership, and teamwork to be successful.”
Kaitlyn has also served as the captain of the VEX robotics team 1695 at DHHS for the past two years. In this role, she facilitates the design and build of four robots as well as leading the programming team.
“We have a small team, so everyone is so involved. We all know every part of our robots and how to make them succeed in their challenges.”
The VEX team is putting the final touches on its robots, ready to compete in its home gym at a regional competition on Saturday, Dec. 16.
“We’re super excited! We’ve put in a lot of work and it all comes together at the competition events. We’re at our home high school, so it will be even better. We hope that spectators, especially any kids interested in robotics, will come and see what robotics is all about—and cheer us on,” Kaitlyn says.
Born and raised in Madison, Kaitlyn lives with her parents Kim and Kevin and her siblings Jacqui and Kevin. She plays the tenor saxophone in the DHHS marching band and plays defense on the school’s varsity ice hockey team. With an interest in studying computer science at college, this past summer Kaitlyn relished the opportunity to intern in a neuroscience lab at Yale University.
“STEM is everywhere. People think it’s all about science and math, but it’s not really. It’s about ‘How can I solve a problem to help other people?’” Kaitlyn says.
“Like coding is using computers to make everyday tasks easier, taking a complex problem and breaking in down into simple processes. We can use STEM to create solutions that have a broad and positive impact on other people. It’s really exciting.”
Outside the robotics arena, Kaitlyn enjoys website design and app development. As an officer of the DHHS Hacking Club, she’s worked with the school’s IT department to identify and repair vulnerabilities in its network. She believes there should be greater awareness of the importance of cyber security.
“We researched ways to improve the school network including how to securely store the passwords and make them safer. I don’t think people appreciate the security dangers of using public wifi or phishing emails, and young people know more about it, but they don’t take it seriously.”
For three years Kaitlyn has volunteered her superior skills with the monthly Teen Tech Support program at Scranton Library.
“We help older people learn to use their own devices, and I love it. I’ve always helped my grandparents with new technology and that inspired me to join up with Teen Tech. I helped one person the whole summer and they went from not being able to operate their phone at all to sending photos and using apps.”
As mentor to The Blue Jays, the FIRST Lego League robotics teams at Polson Middle School, Kaitlyn encourages young people to try their hand at robotics, especially girls like herself.
“I hope that more girls will just go for it, that they will put themselves out there and have fun. I hope they know they are smart enough for all the STEM stuff and they have lots of great creative ideas to contribute to the team,” she says.
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The Daniel Hand High School VEX Robotics Team 1695 will compete in its regional competition at 286 Green Hill Road, Madison on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free. For more information, visit lissa@allennee.com.
For more information on Apple Pi, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition Team 2067, visit applepirobotics.org.