Article by Laura Masbruch

Dean’s List is a FIRST Robotics award named for founder Dean Kamen which celebrates “outstanding student leaders whose passion for and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary.”

Ryann (Rosie) Aschenbrener and Colin Chenoweth were nominated this year by the mentors for Whitewater High School’s robotics team Ferradermis and are now considered semi-finalists.

Rosie’s mentors trust her to do anything at any time and do it well. She has become our all-around specialist. If Rosie sees that a young team member is hanging back and nervous to jump in, Rosie will invite them in. Rosie has worked with electronics, mechanical, competition logistics, and has served as human player (and professional cart puller) on the drive team. She also led the charge to raise over $18,000 in two weeks by making cold calls and personal contacts when the team qualified for Worlds in 2018, which allowed her teammates to travel to Detroit free of charge.

Colin joined as a freshman when our team was just forming and earned the immediate respect of the mentors not only for his intellectual abilities but also for his work ethic. Colin served as a member of the drive team as a freshman and as the electrical captain for his sophomore year; this year he took on the role of CAD co-captain. This summer, Colin took a lead role in our first ever boot camp, introducing incoming freshmen to the use of CAD and helping them prototype a Frisbee shooter. Colin is a quiet leader; he leads by example, and it is obvious that he has earned the respect of his teammates. They respect his intellect, they respect his creativity, and they respect his playful spirit.

Rosie and Colin will be interviewed by judges at the Wisconsin Regional in Milwaukee in late March.