Awards

[ Qualifiers ] Finalist Alliance Captain • Inspire Award (2nd) • Inspire (1st) 
[ Regionals ] Inspire (1st) • Semi-finalist Alliance
[ Super-Regionals ] Robot Performance (16th)

Meet the Team
2015 - 2016

Allison Ayad
Team Captain

Allison joined this team because of her prior experiences in FLL and her strong interest in engineering. As a result of FIRST, she wants to continue in the STEM field by pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. This season, Allison wishes to help her teammates reach their full potential and expand her own knowledge in the different aspects of FIRST. In addition to FTC, she competes in the VEX Robotics Competition, FIRST Robotics Competition, and Solar cup (an eco-boating competition). Outside of engineering, she likes to volunteer for her city under the Arcadia Recreation Department. In her free time, Allison enjoys resting, trying new foods, and listening to music.

​Megan Tran
​Business Captain

After being in an FLL team for 2 years, Megan joined this team because she has been inspired to have a career in the STEM field. Being on this team allows Megan to learn new and exciting things that will help her get into the STEM world. This season, Megan wants to help all of her teammates raise enough money so that they don’t have the burden of coming up with the money for their costumes, decorations and etc. Megan’s personal goal is to be the best Business Captain she can be and to help the team come up with new, easy, and creative ways to fundraise money. As well as FTC robotics, Megan loves to hang out with friends, binge watch TV shows, and wants to start learning graphic design. ​

Izzie Lau
​Software Captain

Izzie is a young, high school student who aspires to become a software engineer. She joined this team because of her strong interest in software languages, and computer science in general. This year, Izzie plans to become well-acquainted with the Java programming language in order to help her team go to the World Championships. In the future, Izzie sees herself as one of the leading programmers of a concept called "virtual reality," or the creation of a computer-simulated, multidimensional digital world. To her, software engineering is quite literally a whole different world. Aside from robotics, Izzie also maintains interests in music, community service, and learning a plethora of programming languages during her free time.

Britney Gallego
​Build Captain

Britney Gallego decided to join this team because she had been in FLL for two years and wanted to continue participating in FIRST.  FIRST is an amazing program and Britney is planning to keep being in FIRST for the rest of her high school journey.  Britney is determined to get a PhD in Aerospace Engineering.  During this season, Britney plans to teach her teammates how to build a strong and sturdy robot. As well as this, she plans to inform and teach her teammates about the quality of a good robot mechanism. In Britney’s spare time, she enjoys listening to alternative music, watching Marvel movies, and sketching landscapes.

Caterina Marchionne
​Workshop/Safety Captain

Caterina joined the team and FTC because she wanted to continue robotics after her amazing experience with FLL. She found her rookie year worthwhile and decided to continue. This is her second year in FTC and she hopes to excel in programming and Autodesk. Caterina has a passion for power tools and loves building on the robot. Caterina would like to attend Stanford, graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and business, land a job at Apple on the design team, work her way up to CEO, change the world, become the next Steve Jobs, and die remembered! Caterina is an outside and right side hitter in volleyball, and a hurdler.

Linda Borja-Khalaf

Linda joined the team because one day at a Pasadena Education Foundation Robotics Tournament,  she stumbled upon the team's booth and knew she had to join. After 3 years of experience with FTC, Linda now aspires to help her team in going to the world championship this season. Linda’s goal this year is to have fun with her teammates. Her future plans are to become a video game designer. In her spare time, she sings and plays guitar.

Bella Demarco

Bella joined FTC to continue the FIRST program since she was on an FLL team in  middle school. She feels that her rookie year was very fulfilling and hopes to improve upon herself more this year. She hopes to better her CAD skills and drive the robot. She also hopes to compete in the 2016 FTC World Championships. In the future, Bella plans to go to college and proceed into the medical field as a dermatologist. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and browsing social media. ​

Alexandra McGowan

Alexandra joined this team in the summer because she was interested in robotics. She was the only girl in her robotics club at school, where she built and programmed robots using Lego Mindstorms. After emailing one of the mentors about joining this robotics team, she decided to attend their summer camp. After going last summer, in August,  Alexandra decided to join it.  Her goal is to try to attend all meetings and extra activities. She wants to become a better builder and expand her knowledge in programming. Her future plan is to become a mechanical engineer. Her outside interests include learning French, playing the piano, tennis, traveling, and trying new cuisines.

Caffeine

Nicknamed "Caffeine" for one of her hyperactive servos, we have had the honor of sweating and bleeding for this robot. From the moment when she first hung on the pull-up bar at Regionals to when her autonomous worked successfully in the test run at Super-Regionals, Caffeine's accomplishments act as an accumulative memory of our team's passion, hard work, and dedication to our mission statement and FIRST Tech Challenge.

Meet the Mentors

Julie Townsend
Robotics Engineer at JPL

"When I was 13, a summer camp inspired me to become an Aerospace Engineer, and mentoring this team lets me help today’s girls find that inspiration. I love seeing the girls’ leadership skills and confidence in technical abilities grow through each season"

Craig MacFarlane
Software Engineer at Cisco

"I am at a point in my career in which I feel the need to give back, so I went searching for STEM and volunteer opportunities. I found Girl Scouts and FTC seemed like a great fit. After joining this team, I realized that teenage girls are nothing like their representation on the Disney Channel. "

Taylor Halsey
Biology Teaching Associate at Cal Poly Pomona

"I became involved in FTC through my own participation on the team when I was in high school. My participation has sparked a lifelong love for FIRST and I continue to get back on volunteering in any way possible. As a mentor, I love helping girls go through similar journeys as they discover their love of STEM."

Phoebe Rhodes-Wickett
Mechanical Engineer at JPL

"‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity’, and my goal is to help this team of young engineers prepare for these opportunities. FIRST is an amazing program that truly prepares its students for their futures, and I am thankful to be a small part of that."

Dale Gallego
X-Ray Field Service Manager at Western Diagnostic Imaging Systems

"I’m volunteering my electrical, mechanical, and electronic skills & experience to aid the learning process of problem-solving. "

Brandon Metz
Mechatronics Engineer at JPL

“We must defeat the red menace growing in the east and STEM is the only way."