My name is Aaryn Zoccole. I am an Ojibwa Woman from Eagle Lake, ON. I grew up on First Nations Reserves all over Northern Ontario and Minnesota. Currently, I am in my first-year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. In 2017, I moved to Wikwemikong, ON, with my mom for her new job. I was very introverted and...

My name is Kayla Verge, I am a first-year Mechanical Engineering Student at Carleton University and an alumnus of Team 1310, Runnymede Robotics. In my time on Team 1310, I was a build-team leader, design team and pit crew member, technician, and head of the electrical and pneumatics sub-team. I was also safety captain one year, but as someone...

Over the past two years, members of the FIRST Canada Youth Council have been working to strengthen the FIRST community’s mission to put Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the forefront of all robotics discussions. We started an initiative called DiversityFIRST in our inaugural year to showcase the achievements of racialized global leaders in STEM from history and the...

      Can you tell us a little bit about your team’s history?  Our team’s story begins before the summer of 2018, when a group of students with a passion for making things happen, officially became a FIRST Tech Challenge team, called Ro2D2. During our first season, we achieved remarkable results but a lack of funding was putting...

My favourite memory in FIRST is our build season dinners every night, building our team bond and making robotics feel like home.

At FIRST Canada, we are very passionate about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We are always striving to be better and to be more inclusive. This is why we are super excited to present to you Being FIRST! Being FIRST is the very first interactive online magazine created by the FIRST Canada Youth Council! This magazine is completely online with new issues produced quarterly. Each issue has a...

This is SUCH a hard question! I have so many incredible memories... but I think one of my top ones was at 2019's District Champs. As a rookie team, we had never been to such a huge event and the energy was crazy! It was thrilling and so much fun. At one point, we had just sent the robot...

My favourite memory would be eating out with my team after competitions. The team would be so energetic, happy and relieved that all our hard work paid off. It would make the most amazing environment that just left you feeling so happy.

My favourite memory of FIRST is when really a mix of all the fun Zoom calls I am having with my team and the youth council. We talk about so many fun things and I learn so much! I am glad I can talk to all these cool and talented people from the comfort of my own home.

Playing on the Einstein field definitely takes the cake for favourite FIRST memory. At the 2019 Detroit World Championships, my team was alliance captain. Nicknamed "Team Canada", our alliance advanced to the finals and almost won — losing by one point. While that was pretty unbelievable on its own, the kindness that everyone exhibited was also something I won't...