Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2018 Issue
By Meagan Gillmore
When Tina O’Keeffe was asked to start a FIRST Robotics Club at Esquimalt High School in Victoria, BC, the former computer technician automatically knew her response: No.
Computers have been her passion since childhood, but she didn’t think she had time for another extracurricular commitment. FIRST Robotics teams build robots for competitions. They need to make the parts and fundraise; O’Keeffe compares it to preparing a basketball team for tournaments.
She knew one of her students “lives, eats, breathes, sleeps” technology and engineering and really wanted to do the program. She gave him one afternoon to find other students interested in the club. He came back with eight names. Once she saw the interest, she knew she needed to start something.
Meagan Gillmore is a freelance writer in Toronto, ON.
