Yes, this team is from Ridgefield, and yes, we are a bunch of High School Students, but who really is Steel Ridge? I could go into the little details of what we actually do at practice but in my eyes that still doesn't tell you much about our team as a living and breathing organism. As a team it is really important that we all understand and respect how we conduct ourselves at meetings, which is why we use the acronym S.T.E.E.L, which stands for Strong, Trustworthy, Empowering, Effective, Leadership.
Starting with Strong: This means that we are both strong as a team and as individuals. We don't focus on physical strength as much as strength of character. A person with a strong character is one who is ambitions, hardworking, and one who has good self discipline. This strength is important to the team because without it, frankly we wouldn't get much done. This strength is also speaking on someone with a lot of resilience and is willing to find solutions to problems where others may not find them.
Trustworthy: this attribute is important with internal team interactions. Our team members must trust each other with the work that is getting done. Programming has to trust Controls that they will attach everything correctly in terms of electronics, and Controls has to trust that Mechanicals will advocate for room for the control pieces to fit in the robot's architecture. Also trust between mentors and students is also incredibly important. If a mentor does not have full trust that the students can get a project done in an effective and time efficient way there may be internal conflict. Having a bond of trust between each member of Steel Ridge Robotics is really what makes the team.
Empowering: on this team we empower others to do the best they can. If the members on our team feel empowered in their area of expertise they can take charge of projects and not rely so heavily on having help.
Effective: we all aim to be successful and productive on the team, in order to actually get our work done. We aim to have an effective team and robot year round.
Leadership: one of the most important and valued characteristics on this team. Without strong leadership a team may fall into disarray and become unproductive. Team leadership helps raise everyone else up in confidence and in skills.