PJH Robotics team receives donations of money and equipment

  • TECHNO WIZARDS Members of Perryton Junior High’s W.O.T Robotics team recently received a number of donations, including $5,000 from Phillips 66. Pictured from left, front row, are Caden Rodriguez, Elijah Garcia, and Trenton Estes; and back row, Gus Eylar, Rogelio Munoz, Saul Palma, Emmanuel Soto, and Sam DeSantiago.
    TECHNO WIZARDS Members of Perryton Junior High’s W.O.T Robotics team recently received a number of donations, including $5,000 from Phillips 66. Pictured from left, front row, are Caden Rodriguez, Elijah Garcia, and Trenton Estes; and back row, Gus Eylar, Rogelio Munoz, Saul Palma, Emmanuel Soto, and Sam DeSantiago.

    Perryton Junior High’s new robotics program got a boost from several donations of money and equipment.

    On Monday, Zeb Talley, instrumentation and electrical supervisor with Phillips 66 in Tulsa announced a $5,278 donation to the robotics program.

    “On behalf of Phillips 66, we are happy to present the donation to the PJH Robotics Class,” Talley said. “Major pipelines run just south of Perryton and historically have had a major impact on the oil and gas industry in the area. Phillips core values are safety, honor and commitment, and part of this commitment is being a good neighbor and contributing to the communities.”

    Sandy Woods, the PJH robotics teacher and coach, said the donation will give the new program strong advantages.

    “Our school and our team are so thankful and appreciative of the Phillips gift,” said Woods. “We started the new semester without a budget, and this donation is putting new robots in the hands of every team member, as well as making it possible to have more robotic equipment for use in PJH technology Applications classes.”

    In addition, four new EV3s were loaned to the robotics program last week by the Liberal Air Museum.

    EV3s are educational robotics kits that contain equipment to be used to build a robot. The kits contain motors, sensors, rechargeable batteries, cables, and more.

    “The Air Museum has a long-standing tradition of leading area robotics competitions, mentoring new programs and offering summer camps for youth interested in robotics,” Woods said. “They have been a huge help to us, and through a scholarship program there we were able to have our First Lego League 2020-21 competition registration and kit fees paid.”

    And on Monday, Norma Green, the public relations representative for PTCI in Guymon announced a $250 donation to the robotics team to help purchase hats for upcoming robotics competitions. The team will be competing in the Texas Computer Education Association Robotics Contest and in the First Lego League competition.

    Earlier this year, the robotics class had a team name and logo competition and selected WOT Robotics as their team name. WOT is an acronym for Wizards of Technology. The eight team members can be found most days during their lunch periods, between classes or after school in the robotics lab working on their projects.