CVU's RoboHawks have a busy few weeks coming up.

In early April, the White team (#22683) heads to Springfield, Mass., for the New England Regional Championships. Then, in mid-April, the Red team (#22683) competes in the World Championships in Houston, Texas—having won the FIRST Robotics FTC Vermont State Championships in early February.

"They're competing among the best talent from around the world," Olaf Verdonk, CVU design and engineering technology teacher and RoboHawks head coach, says of the World Championships. "It's incredible how talented the teams are at Worlds. The energy and innovation is on a whole other level."

It's the fourth year in a row the RoboHawks have qualified for World Championships and the first year that CVU has fielded two varsity teams, thanks in part to booming interest in FIRST Robotics across CVSD. Each of the district's middle schools have at least one team, many of whom earned top awards in January's Vermont Lego League State Championships.

Intra-school mentoring is a key component of the program, with CVU students regularly visiting sending schools to work with younger students. Two CVU RoboHawks even work as head coaches of the Williston Central School team.

"It's really a testament to the strength of our program at CVU," James Haines, a RoboHawks co-captain, told WCAX in a recent story. "I think we do a really good job of bringing in new younger members every year and bring them right onto a JV team, so that next year when seniors graduate, like me, those students who are from the JV team will be right ready to go onto the varsity team."

"It's been really cool seeing high school kids going into the other schools and mentoring other kids," says Olaf. "It's not about the robot. It's about how we work together and collaborate."

Learn more about the RoboHawks here.