Gage Park Racers Travel to Nationals in Houston, TX

May 15 – 17th, 2015

On May 15-17, a group of 16 youth from the Explore Engineering:Ten80 afterschool program at Gage Park High School traveled to the Ten80 National STEM League Finals in Houston, TX. For the two teams (named Hot Hares and Retro Racers) this trip was the culmination of a long school year of hard work and dedication, as well as the regional competition in February (read about that here). Although

they did not win any trophies, the reflections written by the four team leaders shows how they see their participation as a victory in itself. The trip ended with a visit to the Johnson Space Center, where the group checked out some giant rockets. The vibrant Twitter feed from the weekend (which you can peruse here) proves how hard they worked and how much fun they had.

Congratulations to all the students who participated in Explore Engineering:Ten80 this year at four high schools around Chicago!

Below are excerpts of reflections from the four team leaders who traveled to Houston!

Uzziel – Hot Hares Co-Leader
On competition day I woke up nervous. I did not know what to expect from all the other teams but I knew that my team was ready. All morning all I thought about was my research presentation and 8-minute presentation. Everything had to go perfect. I trusted my partner researcher and copartner that was presenting the 8 minute presentation with me. I knew everyone would do a good job. I felt like we would go into the competition as the underdogs, but as the competition went on we weren’t. Our team was up there and surely not far back in the competition. It’s such a great feelingbeing in a National Competition. Not many students from Gage Park can say that they have competed against National Qualifying teams. Our driver said that it wasn’t even about winning it’s about learning from your mistakes and learning how to fix those mistakes. He is completely right. While I was there I didn’t want anything to go wrong but nothing ever comes out perfect. There were times where I wanted to cry or just close my eyes so I wouldn’t see anything go bad, but as my partner researcher said it was like a dream while he was there and it is a bunch of memories he will never forget. I felt the exact same way. When I joined my first year of Explore Engineering:Ten80 last year, reaching Nationals was like climbing Mount Everest. This year it was like going over a speed bump. We worked and pushed each other so hard that we made a dream come true. I wanted to give up because of all the stress at times but I didn’t, and I believe my character has grown ever since I’ve been in Explore Engineering:Ten80.

Yasmin – Hot Hares Co-Leader
Throughout my Ten80 journey I was able to come to a sudden realization whilst standing with all my team members in the gym where we anxiously waited for our name to be called out at least once. I saw as everyone’s expression changed and how their body language spoke all the words their thoughts could not say out loud. As time went on and the trophies minimized as there was no longer any standing on the tables I felt disappointment, failure, embarrassment, anger, and sadness knowing that our team wasn’t called out to receive a trophy with letters engraved on them. That’s when it struck me. I looked around and visuals of all my team members collaborating flashed through my head. We had done it, a group of kids from underrepresented backgrounds made history through this program.

“I can’t believe we actually won! Doesn’t even feel real” – Tamara Braxton (Ten80 Regionals)

We were able to deeply connect and reflect with Jackie (PE Program Manager) and she truly impacted us. She made us realize the importance of this program and why we do it. Project Exploration opened the doors for our future.

Everything about our trip was amazing. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Although my team did not win a trophy we won more than that. We won a sense of a new mindset and perspective.

“I just want to say that I know we are all going our separate ways after this but I love all of you guys and I won’t ever forget our journey, so thanks for that” – Daniel Ramirez(Ten80 Meeting after competition)

Isaac – Retro Racers Co-Leader
In my opinion the experience overall was amazing. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to get to travel somewhere new and participate in something that is really positive. What I liked most about the event is getting to see all the great competition and talent that there is out there. Especially, from those middle schooled students, I was shocked at the fact that kids seven years younger than me are participating in STEM-based events and doing extremely well.

Being in this program helped me grow as a person. I learned more of what it meant to be a team player. Ten80 really taught me that managing your time is very important because if you leave everything last minute, you can’t expect to be number one. In order to get a pleasurable outcome, the dedication and commitment must be there.

Although, we weren’t first place I was pleased with how my team and I did because it was very exciting seeing the students have an interest in a program like this. It was an honor leading a team that was able to make it as far as they did.

Omar – Retro Racers Co-Leader
“We showed up, did the best of our ability, and used the resources we had, just goes to show nothing is definite,” said Devontae.

Saturday morning like no other, we woke up, got dressed, got our stuff, and headed out to the competition. This was it, all of our hard work, all of our preparing, it was Show Time. For many of us this was just so surreal nobody could have imagined a program of just racing a miniature RC cars would have gotten us to travel across the nation to compete in Houston. It was a stepping stone in all of our lives and truly something worth sharing.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” said Sarait, and in our case we might not have walked home with a trophy but we didn’t leave empty handed. We might not have been champions in the eyes of the people, but we had won through our experience and through the knowledge that we had gained in this long journey that for many ends at Gage Park Academy,  but for others continues on.

Gage Park: Houston Prep Meeting #4, Year II

Friday, April 24th, 2015 – written by Magaly Perez

Three weeks away from Nationals!

Another week has passed and our meeting once again began with a “share out” on any and all updates from leaders and members. Significant progress had been made but not nearly enough, especially after learning about the May 1st deadline for the Data Design Driven project, which includes, 3-minute pitch, 30-second elevator speech, and Community Outreach. That left teams with one week to complete and submit these assignments in order to earn points. This became a big concern as we heard that neither team had any of these assignments fully completed. The biggest problem appeared to be for the Retro Racers as they only started their Data Driven Design project. They are still waiting on two additional car bodies to arrive to test their experiment. However, Retro Racers could have already performed at least half of their project but failed to do so. We will have to wait and see which action is implemented by Retro Racers, either scratch their project and start over or modify their current project.
The remainder of the meeting was spent working on individual tasks, particularly those to be submitted on May 1st. As well as sharing our progress with Jaclyn Carmichael from Project Exploration and Stephanie Suntay from CPS, who were kind enough to visit us!
Hopefully our teams will be confident and ready with their submissions this coming Friday!

Gage Park: Houston Prep Meeting #3, Year II

Friday, April 17th, 2015 – written by Magaly Perez

A Month Away from Nationals!

Since our last meeting took place over two weeks ago, the first item on the agenda was a “share out” from team leaders on overall progress and future work, as well as an update from individual members in regards to their assigned roles. Although it had been two weeks, each team still met outside of school so we were hoping for major progress. As we all listened to each member, we soon realized that was not the case. Hardly any work had been accomplished and with less than a month away from Nationals, teams now have a lot of catching up to do. Before wrapping up the discussion, Mr. J proceeded to remind teams of how many people are supporting them and rooting for them, including himself. There is a lot at stake!

After an intense discussion, all members were quick to get back to work and focused on their individual tasks for the remainder of the meeting. Drivers practiced outside in the parking lot, designers sketched, and researchers and business people typed away. Progress was noticeable in team websites, business plans, and elevator pitches but a lot of work remains in terms of driver and mechanic certifications, research projects, and graphic design. Before wrapping up our meeting, coaches checked in with members and discussed what should be done before our next meeting. Although this meeting may have begun a bit disappointing, we remain hopeful that our teams will swing into high gear and accomplish the impossible. A rough meeting ended on a good note as Mr. Weglarz and our fearless team leaders came together for a group hug!

Gage Park: Houston Prep Meeting #2, Year II

Friday, March 27th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

This week our teams are focusing on delegating the necessary work among all of the team members.  As they are slowly reciveing more and more information in regards to the requirements for the national competition, adjustments are being made in regards to specific tasks.  This week we also divided the work among the coaches and each coach will help the teams with either the enterprise, research or engineering piece.  In addition new budgets have been submitted to our sponsors and more sponsor support has been coming in through our donation website.  We are very near our goal with both race prep and race travel logistics.  The coaches unanimously agree that both teams have a great dynamic and will be fully prepared for race day!  A big thanks to our sponsors for all of their wonderful support and for believing in us.  Check out the photo that shows the back of our shirts with all of our sponsor logos.

Gage Park: Post-Race Meetings, Year II

March 6th and 13th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

Now that the excitement from the competition subsided and our focus has been directed towards planning for the Texas competition, our teams took two meetings to work out the details and new team dynamics.

The March 6^th meeting was simply a celebration of a job well done. Thanks to a donation from Mr. J, we were able to order a dinner style meal for all team members. “We ate like Kings”, said one Ten80 Participant. In addition to the grand meal, the coaches decided to show the “Truth in 24” car racing documentary film. The movie focused on all of the challenges that our Ten80 teams faced during their race, but at a much larger scale. The film featured the Audi car racing team during the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race. Our students watched the movie and reflected on the experience on questioners supplied by Project Exploration.

The March 13^th meeting addressed all of the decision that our coaches and PE staff made that week. After reviewing budgets, sponsorships and costs it was decided that both the Hot Hares and Retro Racers will compete in Texas, but the teams will be restructured with new members and new Co-Leaders. After the coaches chose new leadership for the Gage Park teams, the newly elected leaders had a job of selecting six new members for each of their teams. The selection was based on the “elevator speech” process. All those who were interested in competing in Texas gave their 30-second presentation to the new leaders. The leaders then decided who would be the best fit for their new teams and justified their decisions to the coaches by providing reasons such as motivation, past work, determination, examples of completed work from the last ten weeks, future plans and personal contributions to the team. In the end both the new leaders and coaches were in agreement and the newly structured teams were born. All those not selected were invited to support the teams during meetings and race prep practices. This week we will begin our official preparations for Texas. With two months left there is much to be done and we want to be sure that we are ready for the road ahead!

Ten80 Chicago Racing Invitational

On Saturday, February 28th, our Ten80 program teams from 4 schools (Gage Park High School; World Language High School; Infinity Math, Science, and Technology High School; and Carl Schurz High School) traveled to Illinois Institute of Technology to participate in the Ten80 Chicago Regional Racing Invitational!  Our teams arrived ready to compete and prepared to show what they’ve been working so hard to do!  The day consisted of several different races, some timed and some where laps were counted, and the teams also had to present speeches discussing details related to their logos, names, and research that has been conducted during their program time! We were so proud of all our teams and beyond excited when 2 teams from Gage Park, the Hot Hares and Retro Racers, placed 1st and 3rd place, respectively, for the day!  This accomplishment granted them an invitation to the National Competition in Houston! We are so excited!

We’ve collaborated with our team leaders at Gage Park to bring together a post describing the day from their perspectives! Enjoy!

Hot Hares (Placed 1st for the day!)

The Saturday of the competition went amazing. It went way better than expected. Once we arrived at IIT, all the pressure slowly started to slither into my team and I.  We knew we worked really hard on everything and we could not mess up that day. I participated in Ten80 during my junior year so I knew how the vibe during the competition could be. It was completely different this year. Every team seemed to be more prepared than the year before. I let my team know and that pressured my team to be even better than we expected. The other team leaders and I shook hands and wished each other luck since we are all really close friends. Once the event started everyone knew their roles and how to complete them. My team was really good at listening to instructions and helping each other when someone needed help. I believe that is a reason we were really successful. I felt like I was running everywhere checking up on all of my teammates. I had to make sure my drivers were concentrated and ready. The driving part always seems to stress me out the most. I knew my drivers were really good at driving, but once someone hits my team car and it loses control, everyone on my team knew those seconds were crucial and we had to regain them at one point. Throughout the races I had to motivate my drivers but also tell them to relax so they wouldn’t be nervous during the race. They coped with the pressure really well. Better than I expected. After all the presentations and race events that took place finished  my team came together and congratulated each other on all the hard work that we had accomplished. The other two team leaders from Gage Park and I came together and had a short conversation on how we believed we did. We all felt confident on our team efforts. After lunch we had the award ceremony. Those minutes had my heart pounding. I was hoping that my team would place at least 3^rd. Once the team of the other team leader from Gage Park won 3^rd place overall we all congratulated his team. The second place team was announced and then came first. When it was announced that my team the Hot Hares won 1^st place everyone on my team went crazy. There were hugs being shared everywhere. I personally didn’t know how to process the moment. I had never been a winner of something so big like a Ten80 event. The best part was when one of my teammates shed a tear of joy. That moment has brought us closer then we already were. It feels really amazing to be a Team Leader of a winning team of the Ten80 Chicago Invitational.

Retro Racers (placed 3rd for the day!)

On the 28th of February, the Retro Racers competed in their first Ten80 race!  For many this was a brand new experience which engaged many us and even enhanced our skills that go hand to hand and are incorporated on a day to day basis in many work fields the skills such science, technology , engineering and last but not least mathematics (STEM for short)!

Furthermore the whole competition was an amazing experience to see other people who share the same interests as one, as well as peers it was truly something fascinating. The competition scored us in our business plan, graphic design, research, and of course our racing.
We were all kinda nervous about the whole competition, we had the mentality that we weren’t going to win but as long as we had a good time worked together it wouldn’t of mattered; but to our surprise, we won third place!  We were all completely shocked, to say the least. As well as wining the the third place trophy, we also acquired an invitation to go to Houston Texas to compete in the nationals championship which sounds like an awesome opportunity to travel! We are excited continue working as a team and continuing education through hard work and dedication.

Road Warriors

I felt like the event on Saturday was great! Through the event I was able to learn lessons that I will never be forgotten. Being a leader of a team really does teach you a lot. You have to learn to be efficient, patient, and assertive. The first event of the day for my team was the Q&A of the Data Driven Design project. When the judges came and we started presenting I was confident in my teammates that they were going to do a great job. There was a moment where things got a tad messy. However, we were able to get past that and keep moving forward. After that event the first race started, he placed in the top 5. We weren’t worried, we knew there was many more to come. When it was time for the team presentation, we went out there and presented to the best of our ability. Now all that was left was the two races. In the ten minute race, my driver started off slow but as the race continued he pushed it and kept on improving his performance. At this point of the day most of my teammates and I knew that there was only one thing left and that was the endurance race. So we all crossed our fingers and waited patiently with anxiety till the race began. I had already talked to the mechanics to come up with a strategy to have more time on the track and less time in the pit area. Sure enough things don’t always go as planned when you’re on the track. At the start of the race my drivers strategy was to try and keep a good pace. With a few incidents in the course that caused major time loss, my driver fell behind. He tried his best to get back on the lead but there was much struggle. At the end of the day, we were exhausted and no matter what the outcome was I was proud of what my teammates and I accomplished. I’ll say one thing; there is no place where I see much craziness and mayhem in such a short time!

Gage Park: 9th Meeting, Year II

February 20th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

With only 8 days remaining until the big race our 3 teams had their work cut out for them!

We started with a quick review of completed tasks and decided a plan of attack for the remaining projects.

Mr. Jablonski was kind enough to visit and help us out again today. Mr. J took charge by setting up a “road race” course. The drivers and mechanics were hard at work practicing laps and pit-stops. We ended the driving practice with a head-to-head 25 min endurance on the road course. It was a great way to test the drivers and cars endurance and gave us some great data on how the cars will react to the race duration.

Some teams took the day off of school yesterday to work on the research portion and it shows. The teams were all hands on deck finishing the research. Most of the students did not even stop working to eat, choosing to eat and work, they continue working through the breaks!

All teams have a great start and direction to the presentation and were practicing presenting to their groups while making sure to be within the time limit!

With only 8 days left everyone was feeling the pressure of the deadline. The students all have the finish line in sight and want to be first across it!!

Gage Park: 8th Meeting, Year II

February 13th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

Today was a big day for all of our teams!  All of the students knew that our sponsors were visiting today, but what they did not know or expect was our Winter Invitational Jeopardy Game! As the room filled up with students, the first activity was to get organized for the upcoming visit. Each group was busy setting up their work space, posting their Group Norms and practicing their welcome speeches.

After some quick introductions the coaches introduced the visitors from Project Exploration and announced the game to all three teams. The game was full of intense moments and healthy competition. The Jeopardy categories ranged from STEM topics, to Elevator Speeches, as well car related subjects. The prize on the line was extra cash for help with ordering team t-shirts. There were a lot of good answers and fun and engaging moments during the game. In the end everyone agreed that the game made them much more aware of what they all needed to work on for February 28th Chicago Racing Invitational, which is coming up fast! A big thanks goes out to Ms. Perez for organizing the game and to the PE staff for visiting with us and supporting our students!

Gage Park: 7th Meeting, Year II

February 6th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

The Gage Park teams were on point, focused and driven as all 30 members worked through their race preparations during out weekly Friday meeting.

Our work started out with a communal “share out” from group leaders on the progress of their teams. All three leaders were quick to point out that a lot of work still needs to be done and time is running out quickly. With only four weeks remaining our teams have been putting a lot of work outside of the scheduled meetings. It was also good to hear that many of the members struggled with some of the same issues. The highlight of the day for the coaches was in the fact that the three teams, although competing directly with each other, were able to offer assistance to the other members. There is a lot of power in collaboration and today’s meeting was filled with it.

During our scheduled break and snack time we had a guest speaker present to our students about his background in engineering and finance. Although Mr. Jablonski visited with us before, this was the first time he offered an official guest speaker presentation. Students were moved to hear his powerful story about his struggles as a south side teen, his success in college and career fields.

Our meeting concluded with student reflections about Mr. J’s life and his accomplishments. We will be sure to include some of these reflections in our next blog!

Gage Park: 6th Meeting, Year II

January 30th, 2015 – written by Krystian Weglarz

Today was all about getting our teams back on track. Due to the recent events and as a safety concern for our students, Gage Park cancelled all after-school activities for one week. The coaches were very happy with all three teams since it was evident that most members still met and/or continued the team conversations outside our regular meeting times. This allowed for a quick transition into race preparations. Aside from our icebreaker and quick reminders, all team members got down to work. The room, hallways and the gym were buzzing with activity. Students in the computer lab were working on logo designs, websites and t-shirt orders. The classroom had tables occupied by members discussing business plans and research topics while the gym was filled with drivers and mechanics that were practicing racing and quick part replacement.  Other than taking time for pizza and reflections the full three-hour meeting was jam packed with activities. This week our team leaders will be meeting with a potential sponsor in order to help secure money for additional food and expenses. We hope that their meeting is a successful one and wish them best this coming week.