About

Our Story

Spectrum evolved out of two determined teams and copious amounts of determination. We were originally the rival engineering teams of St. Agnes Academy, an all-girls school, and Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, an all-boys school. The St. Agnes Engineering Team began in 1993, participating in various competitions, while the Strake Jesuit Engineering Team began in 2008. After competing against each other for three years in the BEST competition, we were interested in undertaking a new challenge that would test our ability to the extreme.

The students met to discuss the future of such a program individually and began discussing the possibility of creating a joint FIRST Robotics Competition Team, which we knew would be a huge undertaking. However, we also knew that joining forces would provide an opportunity to create a team stronger than St. Agnes or Strake Jesuit could create separately. With our shared passion for robotics, we resolved our differences and began to coordinate our actions together on our first team challenge: garnering the support of sponsors and our school administrators. The joining of the two teams is a major part of Spectrum's history and defines us as a team that is willing and able to overcome any obstacle by using the many talents that each member brings.

Mission Statement

Spectrum’s mission is to create and cultivate opportunities in which students are able to grow mentally and realize their true potential. Our students develop life skills through the promotion of premier qualities, such as amity, volunteerism, dedication, and ebullience. As an engineering team, we believe that every team member has a special place in the process and creation of our robots. We endorse team unity and bonding through integrity, confidence, and chivalry. Our team deepens the bonds between students by allowing them to interact in a safe and nurturing environment that promotes an exploration of ingenuity. We hope to facilitate a love of individuality through the appreciation of the students varying abilities and qualities.

FIRST

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the inspiration of students and the growth of science, technology, and engineering recognition in the world. FIRST is sponsored by some of the world’s leading technology companies such as: GM, Motorola, Google, Chrysler, Johnson & Johnson, NASA, Boeing, National Instruments, FedEx, and Xerox. FRC is the varsity level competition of the FIRST organization. FRC unites high school students with engineering and technology mentors in a global robotics competition of over 3,000 teams. The challenge is extremely complex and demanding because the goal of the program is not to train students to build robots but to educate students on how to work passionately and to complete seemingly impossible tasks. FRC is built on the principles of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition. These ideals provide an ethic that is unique among most competitions. FRC teams do not just strive to win each event in which they compete; they also try to make sure that the rest of the teams competing are performing at their best and that everyone is having a good time. FRC teams train and mentor other teams and work together to make more competitive machines. FRC also stresses the development of each student outside of their technical skills. Each FRC team is run like a small corporation. Not only do they have to make a successful product (the robot), but most market their team, develop a business plan, manage the finances for the competition, and produce an annual report called a Chairman’s Award Entry. The Chairman’s Award, FIRST’s highest honor, celebrates a team that best models the ideals of FIRST in all aspects, focusing heavily on community partnerships and outreach. FRC is the “hardest fun” high school students can have. It builds confidence, qualities, and skills that students will take with them for the rest of their lives.

FIRST

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the inspiration of students and the growth of science, technology, and engineering recognition in the world. FIRST is sponsored by some of the world’s leading technology companies such as: GM, Motorola, Google, Chrysler, Johnson & Johnson, NASA, Boeing, National Instruments, FedEx, and Xerox. FRC is the varsity level competition of the FIRST organization. FRC unites high school students with engineering and technology mentors in a global robotics competition of over 3,000 teams. The challenge is extremely complex and demanding because the goal of the program is not to train students to build robots but to educate students on how to work passionately and to complete seemingly impossible tasks. FRC is built on the principles of Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition. These ideals provide an ethic that is unique among most competitions. FRC teams do not just strive to win each event in which they compete; they also try to make sure that the rest of the teams competing are performing at their best and that everyone is having a good time. FRC teams train and mentor other teams and work together to make more competitive machines. FRC also stresses the development of each student outside of their technical skills. Each FRC team is run like a small corporation. Not only do they have to make a successful product (the robot), but most market their team, develop a business plan, manage the finances for the competition, and produce an annual report called a Chairman’s Award Entry. The Chairman’s Award, FIRST’s highest honor, celebrates a team that best models the ideals of FIRST in all aspects, focusing heavily on community partnerships and outreach. FRC is the “hardest fun” high school students can have. It builds confidence, qualities, and skills that students will take with them for the rest of their lives.

Mentors

Allen Gregory IV joined the St. Agnes engineering team in 2011 and was instrumental in transitioning the team to Spectrum.  Allen was selected to win the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at the 2014 Dallas Regional. He is an FRC Alumn of FRC#647 and previously helped to start and mentor FRC#2587. He is an experienced volunteer, most notably as an FRC Lead Robot Inspector (LRI) and a VEX Robotics Head Referee.

Jacob Walker joined the team in 2014.  He teaches math at Strake Jesuit and has been involved with team logistics.

Suanne Bouiver  joined the team in 2015.  She manages our social media and is the lead team photographer.

St. Agnes Academy


Founded in 1905, St. Agnes Academy is an all-girls school Cathlotic college preparatory school dedicated to producing young women with intellectual curiosity, who work for social justice and who act with integrity and compassion in the Dominican tradition. The St. Agnes engineering was founded in 1996, competing in the following competitions: 1996—National Engineering Design Challenge, 1997—Texas Experimental Aeronautics Solution (TExAS), 1998-2000—Texas Engineering Challenge, and 2001-2011 - Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) 

Address: 9000 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX, 77036

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

Strake Jesuit College Preparatory was founded in 1960 as Jesuit Catholic preparatory school. The Strake Jesuit Engineering team was founded in the fall of the 2007.  The team has competed in: 2008-2011—Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST), 2009-The Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS), and 2010-2011-VEX Robotics

Address: 8900 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX, 7703

Achievements

  • 2016 Champions - The Remix
  • 2016 Finalist - Texas Robotics Invitational
  • 2016 Regional Engineering Inspiration Award – Bayou Regional
  • 2016 Finalist – Bayou Regional
  • 2015 Finalist - The Remix
  • 2015 Championship Judges’ Award – Championship Event
  • 2014 Finalist - The Remix
  • 2014 Champions - Texas Robotics Invitational
  • 2014 Regional Chairman’s Award – Lone Star Regional
  • 2014 Creativity Award – Lone Star Regional
  • 2014 Woodie Flowers Finalist Award – Dallas Regional (Allen Gregory IV)
  • 2013 Champions – Houston Robot Remix
  • 2013 Finalist – Razorback Regional
  • 2013 Entrepreneurship award – Bayou Regional
  • 2013 Entrepreneurship award – Lone Star Regional
  • 2013 Finalist – Lone Star Regional
  • 2012 Regional Chairman’s Award – Dallas-West Regional
  • 2011 Rookie Highest Seed – Lone Star Regional
  • 2011 Rookie Inspiration Award – Lone Star Regional