Booz Allen Mentors Support Teams at San Diego FIRST® Robotics Competition

Mar 3, 2016 10:30 AM ET
The Eastlake High School (Chula Vista, CA) FIRST Robotics Competition team tests and modifies its robot in preparation for this weekend’s San Diego Regional.

This weekend, mentors from Booz Allen Hamilton will support four teams of San Diego high school students as they compete alongside 55 other teams in the 10th Annual San Diego FIRST® Robotics Competition at the Del Mar arena. Teams will showcase their hard work after an intense six weeks of designing and building an original robot, and compete for bids to the FIRST® Championship to be held April 27th- 30th at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO.

Booz Allen Hamilton is proud to sponsor teams from La Costa Canyon High School, Rancho Bernardo High School, Santana High School and Eastlake High School, giving each team a grant of $2,500 along with the guidance of a skilled Booz Allen employee as a mentor. The firm is also a sponsor of the San Diego event.

Booz Allen is a top employer for STEM professionals and many of its employees donate their free time in support of a broad range of STEM programs and mentorships like FIRST. During the 2014-15 season, employees mentored 72 FIRST teams (1,600 youth) in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Earlier this year, the firm joined the ranks as a designated FIRST® strategic partner—one of only 18 organizations to achieve such recognition. 

San Diego-based Booz Allen Senior Consultant Laura Barker is both a FIRST alumna and a team mentor. She says, “My participation in FIRST definitely influenced my educational and career choices, and I'm passionate about supporting the organization today. I met people throughout my education and early career that told me that STEM-fields weren't for women, or that 'girls aren't good at math.' Luckily I had a strong STEM-career family backing my choices—but many girls don't. For those girls FIRST can be instrumental in developing an interest in STEM and those early successes within the program are critical to moving into a STEM field."

Read More about FIRST.

Read more about Booz Allen Hamilton’s commitment to STEM.

Attend the 10th Annual San Diego FIRST® Robotics Competition.