A Quick Introduction
We are a FIRST Robotics Competition Team in Quincy, Massachusetts currently sponsored by P&G Gillette, Quincy Public Schools, the HYPER Alumni Association, & more. Founded in 1996, we are celebrating our 28th Build Season. Originally sponsored by NYNEX during our first two seasons of existence, over the years we have evolved, choosing to continue the FIRST mission with The Gillette Company for over a decade before evolving to our current list of sponsors. We currently reside in the basement of the Bethany Congregational Church across the street from Quincy High School and continue to draw students from BOTH North Quincy and Quincy High Schools. FIRST’s mission “is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders” by “engag(ing) kids in kindergarten through high school in exciting, Mentor-based, research and robotics programs.” Team HYPER’s influence in this process over these 20+ years has led to the creation of the HYPER Alumni Association, former students now becoming mentors to our next group of potential leaders. Our hope is that this cycle will continue to inspire enough people such that we exist for 20+ more years.
HYPER?
HYPER is an acronym – “Helping Youth Pursue Engineering & Robotics.”
21 years ago, when professionals from NYNEX set out to build an FRC Team in Quincy, we really didn’t know what hit us that first year or so, but we quickly wanted a name that truly represented what FIRST represented. The goal was to help youth within QPS be exposed to the world of engineering through the context of robotics and be inspired that they too could enter the world of what is now labeled STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Students, who may never have known what these fields entailed, could gain experience and learn from professionals – HYPER was the result.
Foundation
Team HYPER has been around for a long 28 years. Through many uphill battles, we have forged the team that we are today. The evolution of technology used as we built each one of our robots throughout the years is extraordinary. Many of our teachers and Alumni are still around to help the team as we receive a new theme for the competition each year.
Who Makes HYPER Possible?
Team HYPER would not have been able to achieve what we have for the past 20+ years without significant support, both physically and financially. We would currently like to thank Bluefin Robotics, Quincy Public Schools, the HYPER Alumni Association, Gig IT, Bolt Depot, Air Draulic Engineering, P. V. Sullivan, Quincy College, Diamondback Designs, and Air Inc. Without these sponsors, we would only be dreaming of how to build a robot. Thank you for your support – our 21st robot, and more importantly our 21st season’s team members appreciate your dedication to the team.
The HYPER Alumni Association deserves some special recognition. Without their influence, we might be sitting around with a lot of students, material, and eagerness to learn, but little ability to create a design and make it real. Since our days with The Gillette Company, our Alumni have stepped up and heeded Dean Kamen’s call to gather team alumni and bring them back into the FIRST fold. Former HYPER student team members are now engineers and professionals and bring the knowledge and skills necessary to inspire and teach our current students.
Outreach
Team HYPER has followed the lead of FIRST in exposing and encouraging students well before high school to experience the design process. For years, we hosted an FLL (First Lego League) qualifier competition in December where middle school aged teams from all over Eastern Massachusetts gathered for the chance to advance to the state-wide competition. We also have created and maintain a city-wide competition known as the Quincy Robotics Challenge for teams within all Quincy middle schools to compete. As of last year, we have expanded that competition into the elementary 5th grade level and hope to continue to inspire the next generation of HYPER team members.