Team

We are a 4-H club of middle- and high-school aged kids building really cool robots for the FIRST Tech Challenge.

Isaac – President

What I Do: Control Systems Lead
Season: 2019-2022

Isaac is enrolled at Burr & Burton Academy (BBA). He is currently in 11th grade, and he lives in middle-of-nowhere Sunderland, Vermont. He is the president of the team, and his favorite activities include snowboarding, running half marathons, robotics, playing the viola, and occasionally acting.

Aleks – Treasurer

What I Do: Software Lead
Season: 2020-2022

Aleks is our treasurer, lead programmer and proponent of open source software. He is more comfortable with the Java than with the robot code, but generally gets along.

Takoda

What I Do: Hardware
Season: 2021-2022

Takoda Stephens is a sophomore at Burr & Burton Academy. He lives in the cornfields of West Pawlet and enjoys hiking in the woods. This is his first year on the team but he has a basic understanding of robotics and is excited to learn more.

Zach

What I Do: Hardware
First Season: 2021-2022

Zach is in 7th grade at Maple Street School. He lives in Arlington, Vermont, and enjoys hanging out with his friends. He likes Math and Science, and he plays basketball in the winter.

Coaches

Patty Rutins

Patty Rutins – Team Coach

What I Do: Team Coach

Patty Rutins grew up in 4-H with horses, but recently she moved to robotics instead. Her excuse is that Aleks, her son, is a member. She earned a degree in Music and became a computer programmer, is currently a Senior Web Developer at The Orvis Company, Inc., and enjoys exploring all kinds of technology.

Meg Ruley – Team Coach

What I Do: Team Coach

Meg Ruley is a coach of the Manchester Machine Makers and the mother of team member Charlotte! She loves technology and learning about robotics.

Bob Ruley – Team Coach

What I Do: Team Coach

Bob Ruley is a first year robotics coach and a third year FIRST Robotics parent. He is a middle school teacher, an avid fly fisherman and an enthusiastic home cook. He lives in Manchester Center with his family.

David Lindenberg – Team Coach

What I Do: Team Coach

David Lindenberg is a first year FIRST Robotics parent and first year robotics coach. He is a special educator and has always had an interest in playing around with technology. He believes one of the best ways of learning is by making mistakes while trying new things; he also believes no matter how you learn, you should have fun doing it.

Charlotte

Mike Cole – Founding Mentor

What I Do: Founding Mentor

Mike is a 4-H Club Adult Counselor and lives in the Manchester area. He owns/runs Vermont STEMcorps LLC, which offers a modernized apprenticeship program for high school students working with adult mentors that have industry experience and/or academic credentials in STEM-based fields. Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Thank you to our previous members as well.