Mercy’s robotics team, the Riveters, competed in a very successful state tournament April 13 through 16, placing 59 out of 102 teams, thus earning them a spot at the World Championship. It will be held on April 27 in St. Louis, Missouri.

This is a huge feat for the Riveters, considering this is only the second year Mercy has competed as a robotics team. However, the Riveters have been practicing very hard and making improvements all year, which clearly paid off.

The Riveters boast many accomplishments. The team is the most successful all-girls school robotics team in Michigan. They also have many impressive sponsorships from companies such as Ford Motor Company. The team also won the Imagery Award at the state tournament.

Although they had a successful year, the Riveters’ work is not done yet, as they are intensely practicing for the World Championship.

“We meet for practice about three times a week,” said senior project manager Marie Camp. “We have decided our robot will not change much. We are focusing on getting the Drive Team to improve how they drive the robot.”

In addition to the many practices, the Riveters also had to prepare and pack up their robot.

“We actually have to ship our robot to [St. Louis],” said Camp. “We had to construct a crate for the robot and we even decorated it with polka dots.”

While Camp is very eager to see how the Riveters match up against other robotics teams, she says the team is very focused on meeting several smaller goals.

“There are many seminars hosted [at Worlds],” said Camp. “We definitely want to take advantage of [the information presented] at those. Another goal is to win the Imagery Award.”

Worlds is not all about business; the team also plans on enjoying themselves.

“We are planning on visiting the St. Louis Arch and just having fun,” said Camp.

The Riveters hope to inspire other teams while they are at Worlds. A robotics team from an all-girl school is very uncommon. Their team name, the Riveters, has a deep meaning that is quite important to them.

“[Rosie the Riveter] was all about female empowerment,” said Camp. “[The Riveters] want to encourage other women to join the STEM field.”

The Riveters need some extra help in order to accomplish their goal of performing in St. Louis and inspiring women to get involved in the science and math field. Donate to the their trip here: https://www.gofundme.com/RivetersGoToWorlds