Published October 15, 2024
Some high school experiences, as fun or important as they may seem at the time, are fleeting. Others, however, literally change lives in ways that endure for decades.
So it is with WildStang, the District 214 competition robotics program. WildStang last week celebrated its 30th anniversary by welcoming alumni, staff, mentors, former mentors and others associated with the highly successful program to a reception at Forest View Educational Center.
Many attendees recounted the ways in which WildStang participation inspired them and helped set the course of their academic and professional lives.
Take, for instance, Liam Fruzyna, a Motorola software engineer. Fruzyna knew early in his time at Rolling Meadows High School that he wanted a STEM career. But his WildStang work on software helped him narrow his aspirations. “The program helped guide me and point me in the specific direction I wanted to go,” said the 2015 RMHS graduate. “So when I was applying for colleges, I knew exactly what to do.”
Others spoke of the head start that WildStang gave them throughout their higher education. Mackenzie Molina told the reception audience via video message that: “The leadership and teamwork skills I've developed through WildStang were instrumental in my college experience. I found it easy to coordinate and collaborate on group projects as well as lead presentations with confidence.”
Molina, who earned a mechanical engineering degree from Washington University and now is a structural design engineer for Boeing Phantom Works, said the skills she acquired through WildStang continue to serve her well in her professional life.
“The early exposure I had to computer aided design software proved invaluable. CAD is something I use every day at work,” she said. “And the skills I started learning while in WildStang have allowed me to quickly adapt and excel in my new role, even among peers who have years more experience than me. I'm deeply grateful for the lasting impact it's had on my life.”
Joe Morales, a 1998 Wheeling High School graduate, credits WildStang with both setting his initial career path and then making a mid-career course adjustment. After earning a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Illinois, he worked as an engineer for several years. Which was what he was doing when he received an invitation to become a WildStang mentor. “That really inspired me to get into education,” Morales explained, “so now I’m a teacher and I’ve been a teacher for 10 years. I don't know how to say it, but it's been kind of very important to my life through high school, kind of guided me into engineering, and then on the mentorship side got me back into education. So it's kind of been a through line for me from high school to now.”
Mark Koch, who as a teacher led the WildStang program for 21 years and now serves as its administrator, knows that this all results from a team effort. “I am grateful for all the District support through the years,” he said. “Our new lab at Forest View is beautiful. The current group of teachers and engineering mentors is top notch. I was just talking with a parent of a former team member who proudly relayed his son’s college experience and now job in software engineering. I’m really proud that WildStang can help launch students into exciting careers in engineering and technology.”
Perhaps fittingly for a program focused on engineering, none of this – the skill-building, the teamwork, the dedication to mentorship, the lasting appreciation for WildStang’s benefits – is either accidental or coincidental. It all occurs by design in a program built and sustained on the foundation of teaching, paying it forward and sharing generously with the community.
That foundation was the focus of remarks Friday from WildStang alum Jack Costello, a 2023 Wheeling High School graduate majoring in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois. He spoke of his high school leadership role in the annual Miss Maker Workshop, in which WildStang students teach skills and generate interest in design and engineering among middle school girls. He said he has carried this interest in leadership to the U of I, where he continues to mentor younger students in robotics competition.
“The experience that WildStang has given me and the opportunities is just truly amazing,” Costello said. “A lot of it comes down to our leadership and our mentors that are just really world class, some of the best in the world at what they do. I’m so grateful for everything that they taught me, and I really hope that in the future I’m able to continue this legacy.”
Motorola has been a long-standing partner of District 214 and was honored at the Board of Education meeting on October 10 for their continued support. This year, they once again provided a grant to fund the Next Generation Engineers (NGE) program and covered the FIRST Robotics registration fee for WildStang. The team also receives generous support from the Bosch Community Fund, Northrop Grumman and the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
