Siemens and Electro-Matic are proud sponsors of FIRST Robotics, supporting teams like the Hybrid Hornets in their mission to inspire and develop the next generation of STEM leaders. Our sponsorships help provide students with the resources, mentorship, and opportunities needed to excel in engineering, programming, and teamwork.
Meet the Team: Hybrid Hornets
The Hybrid Hornets are an FRC team based out of Kearsley High School in Flint, Michigan. Since their founding in 2014,they have been dedicated to engineering, teamwork, and innovation. Their team consists of 12 high school students and 7 mentors, all working together under our motto: "Strong Alone, Stronger United".
Follow the TeamHow long has your team been competing, and what are some of your past achievements?
The Hybrid Hornets’ Rookie Year is 2014. We are excited to celebrate our 11th year of competing as a FIRST Robotics Competition team. Highlights of our past achievements include: District Championship Finalist (1), District Event Winner (x 3), and Entrepreneurship Award (x 4)
Our team’s history is available on The Blue Alliance website.
What roles do different team members take on (e.g., programming, mechanical, strategy, outreach)?
The Hybrid Hornets team structure is broken up into two groups, Build Team and Business Team. Each member plays an important role in both groups. At the beginning of the season, members were asked to pick the groups they would like to work on. They were encouraged to pick a role on the Build Team AND a role on the Business Team. We cross-train for sustainability, growing skills and leadership opportunities. Mentors are assigned to groups based on the goal for each group meeting.
How do you incorporate STEM learning and innovation into your build process?
The Hybrid Hornets are very fortunate to have several new mentors join the team this year. They are recent, and soon to be, graduates of Kettering University and Michigan Tech. They lead the team members through brainstorming discussions, note taking and sketches. Team members build prototypes using materials (like wood, cardboard, found items) and 3D printed parts before building with more expensive materials. They are able to learn through trial and error with these prototype parts. All team members are involved in the brainstorming and problem solving process.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your team or your experience?
The Hybrid Hornets are strong in our grit and determination, and strong in our commitment to each other and the values of FIRST, including Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition. We value strength of character, work ethic, and integrity to our team, our community, and ourselves.
Hybrid Hornets’ Goals & Objectives:
- Respect for teammates, leaders and mentors at all times
- Foster curiosity and the engineering process
- Learn time management and goal setting strategies
- Promote FIRST values and STEAM within our community
Partnership & Impact
What does sponsorship from companies like Siemens & Electro-Matic mean for your team? We are extremely grateful for the sponsorship from Siemens and Electro-Matic for several reasons, including: Our school district, Kearsley Community Schools, is located in Flint, Michigan. The demographics of Kearsley Schools is 56.3% of our students are economically disadvantaged. Robotics is an expensive activity. We need community and business partners to help us have a team, purchase materials and equipment, and off-set travel expenses. We do host fundraisers at local restaurants, bottle & can drives, and bake sales - but we can only raise so much money on our own. Corporate sponsorship is a big boost! Building relationships with companies is also inspiring to our student team members, introducing potential career paths. Typically, students first join the Hybrid Hornets to have fun. They are excited to learn new skills and have the opportunity to travel. As they gain more experience on the team, most of our students use robotics to explore careers, higher education and possible apprenticeships. Companies like Siemens and Electro-Matic investing in our students is very meaningful.
How has working with Siemens & Electro-Matic helped your team grow and develop your project?
We hope our students will have an opportunity to learn more about the work your companies do. We welcome an opportunity for our students to visit one of your work locations. Also we extend an open invitation for your company representatives to visit our workshop. Q. Do you have any future goals or aspirations for the team beyond this season? A. Kearsley Community Schools is investing in our team with a robotics lab renovation in 2026, using a 2022 community bond. We are looking forward to improvements to our workspace and anticipate more students joining the team.
