Regis University supports STEM education at the FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship

On Feb. 8, Regis University was proud to host the returning Colorado FIRST Tech Challenge State Championships. This exciting robotics competition was held in the Regis Field House, which hosted nearly 500 student competitors across 27 teams from Colorado and Nebraska.  

FIRST is a non-profit organization that gives students around the globe the opportunity to learn about robotics through building, programming and competing with a team in head-to-head games. In the shared commitment to STEM education, Regis University offered a scholarship of $25,000 per year for four years for all participants in this year’s competition. Additionally, Regis will give an additional $5,000 per year to the first-place winners of the Inspire Award.  

J.T. Smith, Regis’ AVP and Dean of Admissions, attended the event on Saturday with the Admissions team to announce the scholarship and give tours of the Regis campus to interested competitors and their families. 

“Regis University is proud to partner with and support organizations like FIRST Colorado through hosting events on campus and providing scholarship opportunities to FIRST competitors,” Smith said. “Teamwork, creative thinking, problem solving and gracious professionalism are all important qualities found in students who are involved in FIRST Colorado, and they are also the qualities we look for in our students” 

The Inspire Award is given to the team that, not only from a robotics standpoint, represents what the FIRST Tech Challenge program wholly embodies: teamwork, enthusiasm and knowledge, both on and off the field. This year, the winner of the Inspire Award was team #17969, MECH from Mullen High School in Denver. 

Qualifying teams from this event and other champions worldwide will advance to the 2025 FIRST Championship this April. The next season will begin in May, and both new and returning teams will compete at Regis again in the new year.