Windsor, Ontario (July 17, 2015) – Nine high school graduates will receive $500 towards their post-secondary education from new bursaries established by Windsor-Essex FIRST Robotics – the local organizing arm for FIRST Robotics Canada.

The annual bursaries are made possible through a generation contribution from the South Western Ontario Industry Education Council (SWOIEC).

“These bursaries will help empower our young people to build their future and in turn build the future prosperity of our communities,” says Yvonne Pilon, President and CEO of WEtech Alliance – a Regional Innovation Centre that has spearheaded the growth of FIRST Robotics in Windsor-Essex.

Ten bursaries are named in honour of James Broom and Spencer James – a student and mentor of FIRST Robotics teams at Maranatha Christian Academy and Belle River High School respectively – who recently passed away.

“Both James and Spencer inspired the people around them, and we established this bursary to honour that legacy,” says Larry Koscielski, Senior Engineer at CenterLine and Chair of Windsor Essex FIRST Robotics.

The following students from the following high schools received bursaries to attend the following post-secondary institutions:

 

Name	School	Team	Post-Secondary Institution
Emanuel Raad	E.J. Lajeunesse	5426	University of Windsor, Engineering
Jennifer Fougere	Ecole Secondaire Michel-Gratton	4938	Laurentian University, Nursing
Megan McEwen	Maranatha Christian Academy	4595	Carleton University, Electrical Engineering
Yuchan Jeon	Sandwich Secondary School	772	McMaster University, Engineering
Tess Cyr	Holy Names Catholic High School	4940	University of Toronto, Life Sciences, Neuroscience, Psychology, Mental Health Studies
Courtney Jones	Holy Names Catholic High School	4940	University of Windsor, Electrical Engineering
Emma Langlois	Sandwich Secondary School	772	University of Waterloo, Life Physics
Jacques Le Clair	Sandwich Secondary School	772	St. Clair College, Mechanical Engineering Technology – Automotive Product Design
Benjamin Masse	Sandwich Secondary School	772	McMaster University, Engineering

FIRST Robotics is an international high-school robotics program wherein teams of twenty to thirty students work alongside professional mentors to dream up, design and build 120 pound robots that compete in an arena.

Two years ago there was only one high school robotics team and one FIRST Lego League team operating at the grade school level.

Today, there are 16 high school and over 30 grade school robotics teams competing in Windsor-Essex.

Windsor is also home to the largest annual FIRST Robotics Regional – the Windsor Essex Great Lakes Regional – which each year draws 1500 high school students from across North America.