Titans robotics team acknowledged for rebuilding year

TEWKSBURY — It’s been a season of rebuilding for the FRC1474 Titans robotics team from TMHS.

“We need to work on our processes for a better outcome next year,” said so­phomore Donovan Conway.

After regional events at the University of Rhode Is­land and the University of New Hampshire, the team did not end up where they had hoped in the rankings. Nonetheless, the team was happy with their season and their ability to field a robot.

Senior Maya Sachdev said the team encountered more challenges this year than expected, but was pleased with how the team pivoted.

“I think the new students will take these lessons to heart and use them next year for a stronger showing,” said Sachdev, who will study chemical engineering in college.

Senior Luc Jodoin ac­knowledged the learning curve for new team members. As a returning member, Jodoin worked with the CAD system as the main designer.

“I also love the hands-on experience, and it is great to share that with the newer members of the team,” said Jodoin.

Jodoin is going to pursue engineering at WPI next year.

Freshman Celeste Webb said, “this was my dream come true. There are so many aspects to making the robot work. I learned CAD, mechanical, software, and saw how everything came together to work. I loved the competitions and the chance to meet a lot of cool people.”

Webb looks forward en­thu­siastically to next season.

Junior Joanna Green is a veteran of the team and likes the collaboration. So­phomore Dylan Warren looks forward to applying what was learned this year to next year. Senior Ada Mul­­lins, who will study computer science next year, was the lead programmer and appreciated the soft skills that were acquired during her years with the team.

“Anyone can learn programming, but it’s the team management, assign­ing tasks — all the other things that go into a finished product that I took away from the experience this year.”

“It’s a business — we have to keep records of our finances, have a marketing plan, create a process for the build, and execute tasks at the events, “said Con­way, noting that all aspects of team life are valuable and applicable to real world scenarios.

Conway took charge of many of the business man­agement aspects of the team including social me­dia, sponsorship, and lab management.

TMHS 2016 alum Jimmy Boucher, who works at UMass Lowell, supported the team through the season. Boucher gave a CAD workshop and said the students were working “faster than I could teach them,” im­pressed with the group.

Boucher, who was not part of the robotics team while at TMHS, really wish­es he had been.

“There are so many as­pects of this experience that are transferable to college and career, “said Boucher.

The team is mentored by Victor Impink and Chris Mullins. Impink, an engineer from the software in­dustry and Mullins, a gra­phic designer who works with engineering firms, bring adult leadership to the team.

Mullins said that “engineering is a team sport, and it’s good to get kids learning about collaboration. Robotics is workforce and college training.”

Impink said, “This was a learning year. We focused on pairing new students with veteran members to en­able that knowledge transfer.”

Impink also wished to ac­knowledge the parents who supported the team with lunches, dinners, and snacks during the build season.

Additional support was provided through the season by Brent Conway and TMHS alum Eric Impink. Impink, a junior at WPI, solicited the help of additional TMHS robotics al­ums David Penney, Jared Woodman, and Alex Grove, also students at WPI, to lend their expertise.

The team was honored with the Rising All-Star Award at the 2025 NE Dis­trict event at UNH in March. The award recognized the team’s rebuilding year af­ter losing all but four members, their largest financial supporter, and some longtime mentors. The team was considered a role mo­del for other teams who face rebuilding as part of the normal ebb and flow of organizations.

The team depends on support from the community to help defray costs, and is grateful for the con­fidence the Tewksbury Pub­lic Schools has shown. In­terested students and com­munity members should vi­­sit the team’s website at www.frcteam1474.com.