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East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics prepares to host FIRST Robotics tournament April 10-11, provides inside look into program

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By Deborah Reed
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org


The Kentwood Public Schools K-12 robotics program boasts 300+ students with 100 more on a waiting list, proving that students are seeking out STEM activities that allow them to participate in more hands-on opportunities.

According to East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics coach and mentor Trista VanderVoord, kids are powerfully drawn to robotics not only because it is a hands-on program, but because there is a goal.


“That model is very attractive to kids because it gives them a deadline, it gives them a thing to work for, and they want to compete and be the best at it,” VanderVoord continued.

Believing that robotics should be available at every level, VanderVoord was instrumental in making the robotics program accessible to all grades at KPS. Four years after being made robotics program coordinator, VanderVoord has built a K-12 program 300+ students strong.

And they are learning more than just robotics.


Wendy Ljungren (left), Red Storm Robotics Founder and FIRST Robotics Competition Director, and Red Storm Coach Trista VanderVoord. (WKTV/Cris Greer)


Challenges and triumph

EK junior and Red Storm Robotics Co-Captain Cadence Geemes knew robotics was the place for her as soon as she walked into the robotics machine room in seventh grade.

“I believe everyone needs something that they can do,” Geemes said. “Robotics, as soon as I walked in I was like, this is what I want to do. This is my thing.”

The mechanical aspect of the team speaks to Geemes the most. Taking an idea drawn on a whiteboard and turning it into a physical object brings Geemes deep satisfaction. And with that satisfaction comes a challenge she meets head-on.


East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Co-Captain Cadence Geemes. (WKTV/Deborah Reed)



Geemes’ future includes plans to study mechanical engineering at college. However…

“I’m not good at math – which you need to be a mechanical engineer,” Geemes admits. “But I love math because it’s so challenging to me; that’s why I want to continue with it. I love learning.

“Being a mechanical engineer may be hard because I’m not very good at math, but I want to do it because it pushes me further and to try new things.”

Geemes says FIRST Robotics engages her mind, keeps her on her toes and has taught her how to manage tasks due to strict deadlines involving robot programming and upcoming competitions.

Another life skill – and challenge – Geemes has met with determination is that of leadership.

“I’ve learned I’m not always a people person,” Geemes says of being co-captain of Red Storm Robotics. “I also like to take over things. I’ve learned how to step back, let people do the thing, and just watch and oversee them. I’ve learned that it’s okay to delegate tasks and not do everything…and how to communicate with people.”

Despite the challenge of leading, Geemes says she is grateful for the opportunity to do so and the personal growth she has experienced through it.

Trapped…in the best possible way

Leah Bernstein, EK junior and Red Storm Robotics Co-Captain, also has been involved in the robotics program since seventh grade.


East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Co-Captain Leah Bernstein. (WKTV/Deborah Reed)



When Bernstein agreed to check out a school activities open house with friends, she had no idea it would change her life.

“I’m like, why not – and then I just kind of got trapped here,” Bernstein says with a laugh.

But, Bernstein admits, she is in no hurry to leave.

“Part of it is because this is where I found some of my friends,” Bernstein explained. “But also, FIRST Robotics brings so many opportunities. I have been a part of organizing so many outreach events and gotten so many leadership opportunities.

“I’ve been able to call myself a project manager similar to how those would run a natural company, which you don’t get in other places. This is meant to prepare students as best as it can for STEM careers, STEM jobs and the job market in general.”

While Bernstein has been involved with the mechanical side of the robotics program, leadership is where she thrives. In ninth grade, she stepped into leadership as team captain of the Red Storm Rookies (team 9566). Now, as co-captain of Red Storm Robotics (team 3875), Bernstein makes sure tasks run on time and smoothly while also heavily involved in the marketing side.

“A lot of my work is done with marketing, which is how we present ourselves to the public, how we present ourselves to judges, how we get our finances, all of the outreach we do,” Bernstein said.

With an avid interest in culinary arts and psychology, Bernstein doubts she will pursue a career in mechanical engineering. But she will carry the skills acquired through the robotics program with her.


East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Team 3875. (WKTV/Deborah Reed)


The ultimate sport for the mind

Red Storm Robotics will be hosting a FIRST Robotics qualifying tournament at EKHS on April 10-11. The competition, sponsored by Dematic, will include 40 teams from 40 schools and features the theme Rebuilt.

The competition is open to the public and free to spectators.

Opening ceremonies for Day 1 begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 10, and on Day 2 at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 11, at East Kentwood High School. The complete agenda and more details on the competition can be found here. Latest results and livestream links can be found here.

The robotics model of FIRST directly emulates a sports model, with district competitions, regional championships and a world championship event.

Under the guidance of volunteer professional mentors, students create a robot from nothing in a short span of two to three months. Students practice skills in design, manufacturing, assembly, programming, marketing and teamwork to get the job done.

VanderVoord encourages all ages to come, watch a match, and walk around the team pit areas while students work on their robots. “You’ll be amazed at what these kids are doing.”

Multiple roles, one goal

One of Bernstein’s primary roles at the competition is an impact interview with the tournament judges where she presents information on the Red Storm Robotics team.

“I work with our judges, presenting our team, presenting the outreach we do, how we’re organized, that kind of thing,” Bernstein said.

Geemes will be on the field as part of the drive team, though she typically prefers to be behind the scenes.

“I prefer staying behind the scenes and supporting the people who want to do their thing,” Geemes admits. “I don’t enjoy being in the spotlight.”

However, Geemes does enjoy seeing the team work together during tournaments.

“Seeing everyone come together is probably my favorite thing at a competition,” Geemes said. “Everyone has an opportunity to show themselves because you have people who are in the pit, you have scouters, you have people who are cheering and all of the marketing team.

“Everyone and everything that you’ve all been working for comes to this one moment.”

Think you’re not smart enough? Think again!

A recurring theme is evident when talking with Red Storm team members and coaches:

Robotics is for everyone.


East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Team 9566. (WKTV/Deborah Reed)



“Although the idea of robotics seems intimidating and scary and seems like you have to be uber smart to even attempt robotics, it’s actually very accessible,” VanderVoord said.

“It’s something that can be taught,” VanderVoord explained. It’s something you can learn if you have a curious mind and you’re willing to put the time in as a student. You can learn any of the concepts here, and you can really become very good at it. Every student is smart enough for this program.”

Bernstein also urges students to keep an open mind about robotics.

“Anyone can be in the world of FIRST Robotics,” Bernstein said. “You can find whatever you’re interested in; there are worlds of opportunities in robotics. And it prepares you for any job, getting you scholarships, helping you get into colleges, helping you get jobs and preparing you for jobs right after high school.”

Geemes agrees, naming robotics as a great outlet for students to try multiple things.

“There are so many different ways people learn, and not in a school setting,” Geemes explained. “So I think it’s really important to try robotics, to try your different learning styles.”

VanderVoord says robotics fills a gap in educational opportunities because it focuses on the engineering design process and teaches industry skills.

“I don’t know anywhere else in this district where [students] are getting the experience of something that can be their career like this,” VanderVoord said. “This is a problem-solving kid, and there’s a lot less opportunity for that in a school district outside of class.”

Seeing the growth of youth throughout the robotics program is what VanderVoord thrives on. 

“You see the kids grow up, grow through it and see their development, and that is addictive. These kids are getting so much out of this, and you know that you’ve impacted their journey, which is fantastic.”

Red Storm Robotics and FIRST Robotics Competition information:

Website

Facebook

FIRST Robotics Competition


Next Round: State Championship at SVSU

Every team’s goal is to advance to the FIRST in Michigan State Championship on April 16-18 at Saginaw Valley State University. From there, the best teams advance to the World Championship from April 29-May 2 in Houston.

East Kentwood and Wyoming robotics teams align to take second in district in a jam-packed gym last weekend; West Catholic wins trophy

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By Greg Chrapek
WKTV Contributor
greer@wktv.org


The Super Bowl of high school robotics in West Michigan took place last weekend at East Kentwood High School and the fans in a jam-packed Falcon gymnasium had plenty to cheer about.

Forty 40 high school robotics teams and about 2,000 fans from across Michigan descended on the gym for the FIRST In Michigan (FIM) District Kentwood Event presented by Dematic.

For the third year in a row, the Grand Rapids West Catholic High School Enigma Robotics team won the district championship. West Catholic also earned the Excellence in Engineering Award and recorded the highest match score in the state.

West Catholic aligned with the Hopkins Tech Vikes and Shelby Tiger Bytes to defeat East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics, Wyoming Demons Robotics and Gull Lake Twisted Devils 2-0 (192-121, 199-111) in a best of three championship.

“We had a great weekend here,” said Anthony Uriarte, one of the coaches of the West Catholic team. “We actually had the state high-record with our alliance this weekend in the eliminations. It was a close match, but we were just really happy that our alliances and partners got together and put up some amazing scores and had a lot of fun.”



West Catholic Enigma Robotics took first for the third year in a row. (Photo Courtesy, FIRST Robotics, Phillip Place)



In this two-day event, teams compete in qualifying rounds and then form alliances with other teams to determine the overall champions in the playoff rounds.

Red Storm Robotics had a neighborhood alliance partnering with the Wyoming Demons Robotics. The partnership worked out great for the team as they placed second and qualified for this week’s state finals that are scheduled to take place from April 3-5 at Saginaw Valley State University.



East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics finished in second place in the districts and also won the Impact Award, considered the most prestigious at the FIRST Robotics Competition. (Photo Courtesy, FIRST Robotics, Phillip Place)



“The 3875 Red Storm Robotics did amazingly well,” said East Kentwood Coach Trista VanderVoord. “We had not performed this well at either of our other competitions. They’ve been really working between competitions to get the robot even more robust. This competition is where it all came together. We had amazing alliance partners. We had the Demons from Wyoming, shout out to them, we love them.



“It all fell into place. They all worked so well together. Enigma (West Catholic) is just a great team and it would’ve been really hard to beat them. They are a force to be reckoned with for sure.”

Wyoming Demons

For the Wyoming Demons squad, the chance to be aligned with East Kentwood in the finals was a great experience.

“This was a fantastic competition for us,” said Wyoming Coach Amy Oostdyk. “We had a rough start at the beginning. After the first rounds we were the 40th team. We were the last one in the whole competition, but our students never gave up. They just kept fighting and fighting. And doing what they needed to do. No matter what happened. They fought their way back to where we are today in second place.”



Wyoming Demons Robotics 2025. (Photo Courtesy, FIRST Robotics, Phillip Place)



The alliance of neighbors Kentwood and Wyoming was not something new as the two programs have teamed up at other competitions in prior years.

“We were the winners of the Kentwood event together in 2022,” VanderVoord said. “So this was like a reunion for us. We didn’t win the event, but at least we were on an alliance.”

With 12 students, the Wyoming team was one of the smaller squads at the competition. While the team is small in numbers, it has outstanding team chemistry and unity which allows it to be successful.

“We are a very small team,” said Oostdyk, in her second year as Wyoming coach. “We have 12 kids that we brought today. Our team is really close. We are always working to support each other. Because life is complicated for a high school student whether they join a robotics team or not.”

West Catholic Enigma Robotics

Like Wyoming, the champion West Catholic team also is small in numbers with 12 students on the team. What the squad lacks in numbers, it makes up with versatility as the students learn a variety of skills that they blend together.

“We are actually a pretty small program,” Uriarte said. “We have about 12 students and about five active mentors that come on a pretty regular basis. The nice thing about being a small team is it allows the students to be involved in many different aspects. For instance, our drivers are design students. It allows the students to get involved in a lot of things and have a large impact on our program.”

West Catholic is among the premier teams in robotics in the state as they not only have qualified for the state tournament the past several years, but have also advanced to the world competition. Two years ago, the West Catholic team actually advanced to the final rounds at the world competition. 

“We have been to the world competition the last five or six years,” said West Catholic co-Coach Matt Dressel. “This year we hope for the same thing, to get to the world competition and compete. We will do the best we can do and see what comes.”

A high school robotics team needs a variety of skills from designing and building the robot to driving the robot and developing marketing skills to acquire backing for the team.

The robotics season typically begins in early January where the students come up with the concept for the robot and then design and build the robot to be ready for competition that begins in March. While the competition season takes place for a few months, robotics teams meet and work on different robotics skills all throughout the school year to prepare for the season. 

After competing in different competitions, the teams begin tournament play like the district tournament at East Kentwood.



East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Coach Trista VanderVoord. (WKTV)



The EK tournament drew a packed and enthusiastic crowd of several thousand to the gymnasium creating a true big-game atmosphere.

“They work for at least eight weeks building something to showcase it for just a short five weeks,” VanderVoord said. “Every event is like our own Super Bowl. We’ve worked so hard to get here and now we get to actually do the thing we built this robot to do. The hype is real. It’s electrifying. It’s loud in here. States will be four-times louder because it’s four fields in the same arena. The energy level is amazing.”

East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics: From leadership and LEGOs to breaking the infamous “glass ceiling”

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East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics. (WKTV Journal/3-20-25/Jaylah Lewis)



By Cris Greer
WKTV Managing Editor
greer@wktv.org



A sleepover at a friend’s house opened up an entire new world for East Kentwood sophomore Cadence Geemes. 

Her friend asked if she’d like to come with her to robotics and she said, “Sure … and it just sparked my curiosity. I’ve always loved tinkering and robotics is just the place for it.”

Geemes is a project lead of the mechanical group on the East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Team 3875. As Project Lead of the robot, she’s responsible for teaching and directing other students as the primary builders of robot mechanisms.

Red Storm Robotics Coach Trista VanderVoord said though Cadence is at the beginning of her journey in robotics, she’s “pretty good at teaching one-on-one with students and is very interested in learning. 

“Her placement into a leadership role as a 10th grader is impressive.”

Geemes will compete with her team at East Kentwood’s ninth FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition on Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30 at the high school (6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Kentwood).

“We expect 40 teams from across Michigan to compete and 2,000 people to come to this fun, free, open to the public event,” said Wendy Ljungren, event coordinator of FIRST Robotics Competition and founder of Red Storm Robotics in 2010. “In the 2025 game REEFSCAPE, two alliances of three robots each compete to score coral (tubes) on their reef, harvest algae (balls) from the reef, and attach to the barge before time runs out.”

Opening ceremonies for Day 1 begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 29 and on Day 2 at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 30 at East Kentwood High School. The complete agenda and more details on the competition can be found HERE. For a one-page game overview click HERE. 

Always on her mind

Geemes talked about her love for robotics and how it never leaves her brain. 



Cadence Geemes, Red Storm Robotics Team 3875 Project Lead. (Photo Courtesy, Trista VanderVoord)



“I’m always thinking about robotics,” she explained. “It’s a fun spot to be in. It’s taught me how to problem solve and think around the problem and go from different angles.

As for teaching people as a Project Lead, “I do enjoy guiding people. At first it was a little difficult because a lot of my friends are around the same age group as me. So, it’s weird them saying, ‘Why is my friend bossing me around?’ But I do enjoy having a leadership role, and I like checking things off and assigning people jobs.”

A bowler and tennis player, Geemes compares robotics to team sports.

“I would say it’s like you’re on a sports team because you’re so included and you do everything as a team together,” Geemes said. “At the same time they’re different because robotics is known as the sport of the mind and other sports are physical.

“I just love robotics so much because I love working with my hands and it makes me think, and I love to solve things and just figure things out.”

A mission to increase females in STEM

VanderVoord and Ljungren are on a constant mission to increase female participation in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields.



East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Founder Wendy Ljungren and Coach Trista VanderVoord. (WKTV/Cris Greer)



Red Storm Robotics consists of 55% female leadership, which is a good number compared to the global average that women comprise only 29% of the STEM workforce, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum. 

Though the numbers are slowly rising, 40% of girls with a 4.0 GPA don’t think they are smart enough for their dream career and 28% avoid classes with low female enrollment, according to a 2024 survey of 17,502 girls through ROX and Battelle. Rox is the national nonprofit authority on girls that conducts large-scale national research with girls and delivers evidence-based programs in schools nationwide and equips adults to better support and empower girls.

“On our high school team, the 10th through 12th graders, there are 30 kids with nine student leaders they have selected and five out of the nine are female leaders, which is excellent,” VanderVoord said with a smile. “That comes from many years of developing a culture where female participation is encouraged and Wendy is an excellent example for these girls in this program. She has the strong engineering background and is the perfect example of being a woman in this industry with the kinds of things she’s gone through to get where she’s gotten.

“She’s got a very successful business and she teaches them a lot of things beyond how you build a robot. She teaches them how to exist as a female engineer in this world.”

Geemes said sometimes you just see all guys, and, “you’re like, ‘Why am I the only one here?’ So if you see more females around you, you’re like, ‘Oh, I belong here. I can do this,’ like, that’s empowering.”

VanderVoord said she didn’t start her career in anything related to robotics. 

“My education was in statistics and psychology, and I worked doing statistical reporting for an insurance company directly out of college until my kids were born and became a stay-at-home mom,” VanderVoord explained. “When I was going through college, I had absolutely no idea about robotics. This didn’t exist at Kentwood when I was in school.

“The goal was always that I was going to stay home with my kids, and then as my son was growing up he was interested in just about everything,” she continued. “And one of his interests, he saw a demo of robotics at his middle school and he said, ‘This sounds really cool,’ and I said, ‘Great, you and your dad can go do that robotics thing,’ and so that first year they did.”

The following year, however, her husband asked for help and VanderVoord jumped in and fell in love.

“I saw the growth in the kids and it wouldn’t have mattered to me if it was basket weaving or robotics.”



East Kentwood Red Storm Robotic Team 3875 robot that will compete in the upcoming competition. (WKTV/Cris Greer)
East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics Team 3875 robot that will compete in the upcoming competition. (WKTV/Cris Greer)



East Kentwood’s growth of robotics

“That first season was just a few kids and started by GE Aerospace and Wendy Ljungren in 2010,” VanderVoord explained. “The very next semester they started a high school level program.”

25 participants to start

VanderVoord said they had no supplies to start with and had to raise money, and had a teacher that came in to coach and a team of about 25 kids, “which was amazing that they got that much interest.”

And then 75

When VanderVoord took over as program coordinator, there were approximately 75 kids in the middle and high school program. However, COVID had just happened, and many of the kids didn’t rejoin.

“So we were starting very, very low then and one of my first objectives was to get robotics into the elementary schools in this district. We’re opening our 11th elementary school program this year. And I also needed to increase the number of girls in the program.”

A growth surge to 240, and now 330 and counting

“I was thrilled and that includes recruiting coaches for every single team, a lot more parents, some of them are staff … so the entire district at this point knows about this program.”



VanderVoord has now helped grow the program to 330 participants with a waiting list of 91, which exists because of a lack of coaches.

Ljungren on breaking the glass ceiling; “A long way to go”

“When I started it was at a facility with probably 350 engineers, and I was the first female at that time,” explained Ljungren, who’s been in the aviation business for more than 40 years in high profile roles in engineering for GE Aviation and AiRXOS, and recently formed a company called Anzen Unmanned. “It took years before there were many of us, and even now if you look at the number of women that are in engineering it’s pretty pathetic. The number of engineering graduates is getting better, but it still has a long way to go.”

It all began with recruiting more females in STEM

“Around 15 years ago, I was at GE Aviation leading the women in technology group and we were looking at how to get girls to take the math and science classes because they were not taking them to become engineers or scientists or going into those fields,” she explained. “That’s where we got started with FIRST Robotics LEGO League, then we were asked to start the high school team that spring, and now it’s our 15-year anniversary all because of trying to get girls excited about STEM.”

Ljungren talks about her passion for student led teams and giving them all the education and skillsets in technology, communication and teamwork that they can, and stresses how it’s for both females and males, “Because both sexes need all the help and maturing they can get … and opportunities to develop and grow.” 

What sparked Ljungren’s career?

“I was always very good at math and relatively logical,” she explained. “I always had that skill, but I was thinking lawyer or architecture, and then my parents were very smart. They basically took me to see architecture and at that time women were just drafters, they didn’t do real serious architecture work … and my parents had me talk to both those professions. I really didn’t know much about engineering, but my favorite math teacher, my mom, highly encouraged me.

“And then I took engineering classes, was good at it, and I’m in the aerospace business and I really love the satisfaction of seeing airplanes that I help develop fly, and I’m very proud that I have not had any accidents with them.” 

Senior Eva Mei

Building LEGOs as a child jump-started East Kentwood senior Project Lead Eva Mei into robotics.


“I’ve always been interested in robotics and any engineering related things since elementary school,” said Mei, who leads a team of three people on a certain aspect of the robot. “It started out with my elementary school having a program for Legos, like block coding, and it started from there. In middle school I got to explore in a lot of different fields from the programming to the designing to the actual hands-on manufacturing.

“I really enjoyed building a product … starting from scratch, working especially with other people to all create something that we’re proud of.”



Eva Mei, Red Storm Robotics Team 3875 Project Lead, has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for the past three years for her impact on the community through Red Storm Robotics’ volunteer activities. (Photo Courtesy, Trista VanderVoord)



VanderVoord said Mei is a very strong, mechanical minded person that wants to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University. Mei has received a merit scholarship for $25,000.

“Eva’s been involved in the program since middle school, and has consistently grown year to year,” VanderVoord said. “She volunteers over a hundred hours a year to share FIRST Robotics with our school district and the community and has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for the past three years for her impact on the community through Red Storm Robotics’ volunteer activities.”

Mei compares robotics with a sports team

“We’re all kind of rooting for each other and we want obviously to see ourselves win, but we also have to rely on each other as teammates,” Mei said. “I really enjoy passing my experiences along and my knowledge along to my other teammates so that in the future, when they are seniors, they can continue to pass that knowledge.”

Kudos to the teachers

“I have a lot of respect for Wendy, especially as a woman in STEM who started from way back when the balance was not as high as it is now,” she explained. “And even I still in this day and age struggle with some of the disparities that happen, and for them to be able to persevere through that, I have a lot of respect for them when they do that.

“With Miss V, she’s been leading our team for a pretty long time, and with her initiatives was able to break through in 2022 with boosting our stats of the percentage of women to men in robotics and STEM.”

Her plans are not only to major in mechanical engineering in college, but also to help improve the percentages of females in STEM fields.

“Right now, I’m looking into the automotive industry, but I really want to be able to succeed in a career, in a way, also as a woman,” Mei explained. “To be able to continue to extend the reach of STEM towards women, and not just reaching towards women more with STEM, but also creating a better environment and relationship between men and women within the field.

“I think robotics has allowed me to understand exactly what I want to do because it’s allowed me to experiment a lot with different aspects of engineering … but then in some aspect, it’s also allowed me to open my eyes into leadership, how to lead a team, how to manage different projects, and then has allowed me to see more of that balance between women and men in the STEM fields.

“I think that has made me push even more to want the field and the experience for women to be even better.”

East Kentwood hosts qualifying tournament for robotics competition on March 29 and 30

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(Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



By Cris Greer

WKTV Managing Editor

greer@wktv.org



Building LEGOs as a child jump-started East Kentwood junior Eva Mei into the world of robotics.

“I became interested in robotics and these competitions because I was really into building LEGOs as a kid, and when FIRST LEGO League started at my elementary school I was really interested,” said Mei, a Project Lead on Red Storm Robotics 3875 team. “That eventually led me to joining FIRST Tech Challenge (middle school) and FIRST Robotics Competition (high school). 


Eva Mei, project lead on Red Storm Robotics 3875 team. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



“I have learned how to cooperate as a team and be really communicative with others, as well as learn how to go through the engineering process of brainstorming, prototyping, setting priorities, and building a robot. I find it really cool to belong in a team that I could find a community in.”

Mei will compete with her team this weekend at East Kentwood’s eighth FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics qualifying tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 29 and 30 at the high school (6230 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, Kentwood). The competition is free and open to the public.

“We expect 40 teams from across Michigan to compete, and 2,000 people to come to this fun, free, open to the public event,” said Wendy Ljungren, event coordinator of FIRST Robotics Competition and founder of Red Storm Robotics in 2010. “This year’s competition theme is CrescendoSM. Two alliances of three teams each compete against each other to shoot foam rings into an overhead bin or a smaller slot earning the alliance points. At the end of each match, the robots climb onto the stage chain to earn additional points.”

Opening ceremonies for Day 1 begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 29 and on Day 2 at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 30 at East Kentwood High School. The complete agenda and more details on the competition can be found here.

Back in 2015, Ljungren volunteered to start and lead the competition with a game called Recycle Rush. She has been the Red Storm coach from Day 1 up until last year, when Trista Vandervoord took over. 

Now a team mentor for Red Storm, Ljungren has been in the aviation business for 40 years, working in high profile roles in engineering for GE Aviation and AiRXOS. After funding was cut at GE, she formed a company called Anzen Unmanned in 2021 with three others.



Photo from a previous FIRST competition. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



“Get more girls passionate about engineering”

“I got involved in robotics as the leader of GE women in technology group,” Ljungren said. “We wanted to get more girls passionate about engineering, so adopted the FIRST robotics program for not just Kentwood, but all schools in the area. Red Storm has grown to two high school FIRST Robotics Competition teams, eight middle school FIRST Tech Challenge, and 32 elementary FIRST Lego League teams.

“It is very satisfying to see the difference we have made in student’s lives.”


Similar to playing on a sports team?

“FIRST was started to encourage students, and parents, to be as excited about STEM as they are about sports,” Ljungren explained. “Unlike sports, most FIRST students can go professional.”

New head coach and longtime mentor Trista Vandervoord said the robotics model of FIRST directly emulates a sports model, with district competitions, regional championships and a world championship event celebrating the best of the best. 

“Under the guidance of volunteer professional mentors, students create a robot from nothing in a short span of two to three months. Students practice skills in design, manufacturing, assembly, programming, marketing and teamwork to get the job done.”



Red Storm Robotics Coach Trista Vandervoord. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



The FIRST Robotics website states, “Combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. We call FIRST Robotics Competition the ultimate Sport for the Mind. High school student participants call it ‘the hardest fun you’ll ever have.’”

Vandervoord began as a volunteer mentor

Unlike Ljungren, Vandervoord had a career non-related to robotics.

“My education was in statistics and psychology, and I worked doing statistical reporting for an insurance company directly out of college until my children were born and I became a full-time at-home parent,” Vandervoord explained. “I started my involvement with Red Storm Robotics eight years ago as a volunteer mentor with my son’s middle school robotics team. I enjoyed it so much that when he moved on to the high school robotics team, I stayed with the middle school program volunteering as mentor, then eventually became program coordinator for that level.

“Two years ago, it became a mission of Red Storm Robotics and Kentwood Public Schools to grow the program across the district, and I proposed the position of Red Storm Robotics Program Coordinator K-12 (the role she’s currently in).


There are over 600 FIRST Robotics Competition

high school teams in Michigan this year

Photo from a previous FIRST competition. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



From 75 to 350 members in just two years at EK

When Vandervoord began two years ago, there were 75 students involved across the district. This year, some 350 Kentwood Public School kids participated on a robotics team.

There are 56 Red Storm Robotics East Kentwood high school students participating in the East Kentwood Competition this weekend broken down into team teams:


East Kentwood’s two high school teams: Red Storm Rookies 9566 (left) and Red Storm Robotics 3875. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)

Red Storm Robotics 3875: 10th through 12th grade students who specialize in an aspect of robotics which began 14 years ago. Led by Team Captain Nate, who manages the day-to-day aspects of the project and motivates the team to do its best under the guidance of Coach Alyssa Luna. Project Leads Eva, Ethan and Kailey are all experienced mechanical students who lead the design and building of different functions of the robot (intake, hopper, shooter, climber). Programming Captain Lindsay works with the programming subteam to make sure all programming tasks are completed. Marketing Captains Emma and Zander make sure their subteams complete all award submissions, prepare a presentation for judging, manage all branding and maintain the team’s relationship with their sponsors.

Red Storm Rookies 9566: A new team of 8th and 9th grade students who have just graduated from the middle school robotics program in the fall. They learn all aspects of robotics: design, prototype, build, wire, program and compete. Team Captain Leah works closely with Coach Nick Baribeau to organize the students and manage the workflow of the project.

Leah Bernstein, team captain of Red Storm Rookies

“I became interested after receiving an email from our school in seventh grade that brought many people to introduce our community to our robotics program,” said Leah Bernstein, East Kentwood ninth-grader. “I stayed in robotics through the years because I loved the community, everything I learned from robotics and the amazing experiences and opportunities I got through robotics.”



East Kentwood ninth-grader Leah Bernstein, team captain of Red Storm Rookies. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



“I have learned many things through Red Storm Robotics like basic programming and building, how to be a part of a team, how to communicate with adults and ask for help better, as team captain I also learned how to lead the team.”

Red Storm generally top 25% in the state

Vandervoord said Red Storm generally finds itself in the top 25% statewide.


“Red Storm students traditionally design, build and program robots that are well-equipped to play the season’s game,” she explained. “We are especially proud of our growing number of female participants; currently 44% of the participants on our high school teams are women.”

Vandervoord said Robotics is an excellent application of STEM skills, and attracts students with an interest in evaluating a problem, proposing solutions, trying the solutions and creating a final product to solve the problem. 

“Our well-rounded students are involved in many extra-curriculars, including STEM-related clubs, but we are often delighted by the creative solutions that our artistic/musical students offer.”

College scholarships available as well

 As far as college scholarships go, Vandervoord said they are definitely available in Michigan.

“Red Storm alumni have received scholarships to Kettering University, Grand Valley State University and scholarships through FIRST sponsors,” she explained.

East Kentwood senior Nate Moxey, team captain for Red Storm 3875

“I became interested in robotics at one of Red Storm Robotics’ many demos at a club showcase,” Moxey said. “They had a robot much larger than I expected driving around quickly, so it was exciting to watch. Joining the team became very enticing to me, so I signed up shortly after.”



EK senior Nate Moxey, team captain for Red Storm Robotics 3875. (Courtesy, East Kentwood Red Storm Robotics)



“By being on the Red Storm Robotics team, I have learned effective communication and cooperation skills, while also improving my time management. RSR imitates the industry in many key areas, so I feel more than ready to succeed in college and beyond. It is genuinely awesome to belong to Red Storm Robotics because it feels like its own family.”

Vandervoord talked about the growth of the students.

“I love to see the personal growth in each student as they develop STEM skills such as manufacturing, building and programming as well as interpersonal skills like leadership and teamwork,” Vandervoord explained. “I’ve seen students decide a career path because of their involvement with Red Storm Robotics. It is truly a blessing to do something I love.”

Next Round: State Championship at SVSU

Every team’s goal is to advance to the FIRST in Michigan State Championship on April 4-6 at Saginaw Valley State University. From there, the best teams move on to the World Championship  from April 17-20 in Houston.

The Red Storm Robotics teams are sponsored locally by Dematic, GE Aerospace, Anzen Unmanned, Trane Technologies, Argosy, DTE Foundation, Members First Mortgage, NDIA Michigan STEM Sponsorship, Savant Automation, and Cascade Engineering.

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