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NHS student nets national award |
By Amanda
Newman, Newberg Graphic intern
E-mail Amanda at
anewman@eaglenewspapers.com
|
For three years, Jeffrey
Lewis, 18, has worked to organize the Wilsonville Robotics Team,
which competitively builds robots. He was recognized nationally May
6 for his efforts.
The Newberg High School senior was one of three Oregon students
recognized for outstanding volunteer work at the 2007 Prudential
Spirit of Community Awards ceremony and reception at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Selected as the top high school youth volunteer in Oregon in
February, Lewis joined 101 other middle and high school student
volunteers from across the nation in an all-expenses-paid trip to
the nation’s capital with his parents.
At
the ceremony, the students each received a $1,000 award, an engraved
silver medallion and personal congratulations from Indianapolis
Colts quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
“It was interesting,” Lewis said of the trip. “They really did
things first class ... and I had never been to D.C. before.”
Upon entering high school in Wilsonville, Lewis discovered the
school had no hands-on technology classes. Striking out on his own,
he formed the Wilsonville Robotics Team to compete in the FIRST
Robotics Competition, a national competitive robot-building program
for high school students.
With the help of his parents, Lewis developed objectives and a
management plan for the team and recruited volunteer mentors from
several corporations. As the primary researcher, he organized work
groups and worked with mentors to purchase materials.
Since its inception, the team has obtained several grants and
raised money to fund their projects, and has grown to more than 35
members who have participated in several robotics competitions.
In the meantime, Lewis and his family moved to Newberg so he could
attend NHS. “I moved to Newberg because of the shop and the
opportunities here,” said Lewis, now captain of the NHS invention
team.
However, he continues to work with the Wilsonville team he created.
“It offers a lot of opportunities,” he said. “There’s more to it
than just robotics and engineering. There’s a lot of business
management you have to learn, and public speaking — it takes a lot
of different fields to make it come together.”
“This award came at the end of a spectacular robotics season for
us,” Lewis said. The Wilsonville Robotics team won several awards in
the past year, including the Animation and Innovation in Control
awards at the Pacific Northwest Regional and the Innovation in
Control Award at the San Diego Regional. The team won a Judges Award
(excellence in every aspect) at the Las Vegas Regional, where they
were named regional champions. At the Championship Event, the team
was undefeated in the qualifying rounds, but was eliminated in
division playoffs.
“It was by far our best season yet, both competitively and in how
well we worked and developed the robot and team throughout the
season,” Lewis said.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards was developed by
Prudential Financial, Inc., an international financial services
company. For more information on the awards program and this year’s
honorees, visit www.prudential.com/spirit.
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Published
May 16, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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