Awards

[ ILT ] Control (2nd) • Compass (3rd) •  Finalist alliance Captain• Robot Performance (3rd)
[ Regionals ] Inspire (3rd) • Motivate (3rd) • Semifinalist alliance • Robot Performance (9th)
[ Super-Regionals ] Robot Performance (28th)

Meet the Team
2017 - 2018

IZZIE LAU
Team Captain ⚘ Gabrielino High School, 12th grade

Izzie is a diligent student who aspires to be a software engineer. In the future, Izzie sees herself working to create "immersive virtual reality," or the perception of being physically and mentally present in a digital world. As this is the last season for many of her teammates, Izzie’s last aspiration is to make it to the 2018 World Championship. Aside from robotics, Izzie also attempts to learn korean dance choreography and plays League of Legends in her (sadly nonexistent) free time.

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​MEGAN TRAN
Build Captain ⚘ Gabrielino High School, 11th grade

Megan joined this team after being in FLL for two years. Throughout her FTC experience, Megan has been a programmer, business captain, and build captain. Megan loves that FIRST has so many different aspects, which creates a diverse community. She also loves that the FIRST environment, from team meetings to busy competitions, feels like another family. In her free time Megan likes to binge watch TV shows and hang out with friends.

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LIZZIE LAU
Software Captain ⚘ Gabrielino High School, 10th grade

Lizzie is a versatile member, acting as a programmer, designer, and 3D printer tech support. Lizzie is working to become a surgeon specializing in neurology and robotic surgery. After graduating from FLL, Lizzie wanted a challenge relating to FIRST; FTC gave her exactly that. She has always admired the atmosphere of creativity and nerdiness affiliated with the community. Lizzie also enjoys include playing the piano, competing in speech tournaments.

BELLA DEMARCO
Business Captain ⚘ Gabrielino High School, 12th grade

Bella is a high school student who hopes to pursue engineering in the future. Her interest in robotics is what brought her to this team, but she also has an interest in civil and structural engineering. In addition to keeping track of team funds, Bella also does robot design work. Bella enjoys the atmosphere of FIRST; even though all teams are competing, everyone is still friendly and welcoming. In addition to robotics, Bella enjoys learning languages and spending time with her family and friends.

ALYSSA HO
Workshop Lead ⚘ Northview Middle School, 8th grade

Alyssa is currently adjusting to her new middle school life as an eighth grader at a brand new school, literally, the school opened just this year.  She hopes to become an Imagineer, where she can be creative both in writing and engineering for Disney. Alyssa’s main interests lie in mechanical engineering. As she is now on an all-girls team, she can learn to her fullest. Alyssa enjoys the challenge of the FIRST environment, which has taught her to look outside of the box and to look at problems from a different angle. Aside from being in robotics, Alyssa also enjoys reading, swimming, solving puzzles, and playing the piano.

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JACKIE BANH
Electronics Lead ⚘ Gabrielino High School, 10th grade

From building LEGO sets when she was 3 to building robots in FLL, Jackie has always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. Jackie wanted to challenge herself and learn as much as she could, so she joined FIRST. After spending three years on a FLL team, she found the Javabots and was inspired to continue her experience. Jackie loves how FIRST was made to interest young people with the world of STEM. Outside of robotics, Jackie plays basketball in her free time, enjoys sleeping, and watches Netflix.

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ALEXANDRA MCGOWAN
Programmer ⚘ Lycée International de Los Angeles, 10th grade

Alexandra is a high school student who knows three languages: English, French, and Spanish. Alexandra wants to attend a college that focuses on the French Baccalauréat. She plans to be a mechanical engineer and wants to expand her programming skills. Alexandra joined the team with a strong interest in robotics, as she was the only girl in her school's robotics club. Alexandra’s other interests include learning French, playing piano and tennis, traveling, and binge-watching Netflix shows.

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ANNIE TIGHE
Builder ⚘ Mayfield Senior School, 11th grade

Annie is really looking forward to being on the team this year and learning as much as she can from the other members. Annie was a part of an FLL team at her middle school. Not only is she excited to build robots, she's excited to develop all the other skills FIRST has to offer: being a good teammate, getting involved with the community, and learning about new opportunities. Her passions include math, singing, tap dancing, piano, running, and being with her family. She is on her school’s student council and never misses an opportunity to make friends and have a good time.

DOMINIQUE BHATTI
Builder ⚘ Oak Avenue Intermediate School, 7th grade

Dominique has wanted to be on this team since she first saw one of the team’s outreach booth at a FLL tournament. Dominique wants to be an engineer just like her mom. She joined this team because she wants to get more into robotics after just graduating from FLL. Dominique is excited for competing in FIRST Tech Challenge because the building possibilities are endless. Her hobbies include playing the cello, knitting, sewing, playing tennis, and hanging out with friends!

ELIZABETH NAIL
​Builder  ⚘  Mayfield Senior School, 12th grade

Elizabeth is thrilled to join Javabots this year, which will be her first time on a robotics team. She is learning a lot, helped along by her friendly teammates and a rigorous snack schedule. Elizabeth hopes that her time spent on the team will gives her some insight into whether she’d like to pursue engineering as a career, and so far the experience has been favorable! When she isn’t anxiously trying to make her SolidWorks creations fully defined or figuring out which end of a screw goes where, Elizabeth also enjoys reading, writing, and sketching silly cartoons

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GRACE VIPAPAN
​Builder  ⚘  Mayfield Senior School, 9th grade

Grace is excited to be joining the team for the first time! Although she has no prior robotics experience, she is learning quickly from her helpful teammates. Grace joined FIRST because she is considering becoming an engineer, and she hopes that robotics will help her gain both interest and experience. In her free time, Grace enjoys practicing flute, learning weird words, solving riddles, and sleeping.

JACINDA CHEN
Builder  ⚘  Mayfield Senior School, 12th grade

​Jacinda is a high school senior who hasn’t decided what she will be major in in college, but she seems to be interested in business and economics. It’s her first time doing something relates to engineering and computer science. She is really excited to join Javabots this year and to work with her teammates to build the robots. She hopes the experience she gained in the team would help her determine whether she should continue pursuing engineering and computer science in the future. Jacinda likes to do anything fun in her free time. Her hobbies include dance, flute, guitar, tennis and traveling.

MARY ASTALIS
Builder  ⚘  Mayfield Senior School, 12th grade

Mary is a high school student who is excited to be part of robotics this year! Mary would like to pursue engineering and software in the future. This is Mary’s first year of robotics and she is thrilled to learn with her teammates and is excited to build impressive robots. Mary is a competitive volleyball player, but she tore her ACL and had surgery in August 2017. Unfortunately, Mary will not play this season of volleyball but will play during college. Mary is also participating in newspaper, yearbook, campus ministry, Solar Energy Activity Laboratory (SEAL), and Tournament of Roses Student Ambassador. ​

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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."

Ben Rhodes-Wickett
​Mechanical Engineer at JPL