STEM’s next generation gets their start with Olympic HS robotics club

CHARLOTTE — On an off day at Olympic High School, the school’s robotics club -- Team 4935 T-Rex -- prepares their work of art for competition: A 4-foot-tall Godzilla.

Mint Rascoe and Siennah Greenawalt are just two of the 47 students on the team, half of whom are young women.

“The very beginning and the ending stages are the most exciting for me because I get to reflect on, like, how much work that I am or have put into the robot,” Rascoe said.

Co-leader Melissa McAtee said the number of girls on the team was strategic.

“There is a drastic, drastic, drastic disparity with people of color, underrepresented groups in STEM,” she explained. “So we’re always looking for girls and people of color to get them in there to figure out advanced manufacturing, coding, CAD, design, engineering.”

>> In the video at the top of the page, Channel 9′s Damany Lewis learns about the team that’s breaking barriers.

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