Team 589 earned two prestigious awards at a recent competition.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) Falkon Robotic Team 589 recently earned double gold medals at a competition in Ventura. The team was awarded the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Impact Award and FIRST District Winners. 

“The FIRST Impact Award is the most prestigious award at FIRST, it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST,” states the FIRST website.

Team 589 was recognized in part for years of sustained excellence in community efforts, including robust FIRST LEGO League programs for hundreds of fourth-eighth graders across GUSD, new Falkonnect STEM programming for the CVHS special education students, a commitment to bringing robotics to all five community schools in GUSD, and many more ways [Team 589] partnered across the local community and to increase access to STEM, according to Team 589 co-coach Heather Abrams. 

Falkon Robotics, with its 2026 robot “WALL-E,” won a bracket-style double elimination tournament against the top 24 teams in the competition, advancing through semifinals and finals, ultimately winning the robot game, alongside its alliance partners, teams 4414 High Tide from Ventura and 973 Greybots from Atascadero, added Abrams.

Team 589 was founded in 2001 and since then has received numerous awards and recognitions. It is a group of students at CVHS that is “committed to fostering a welcoming and engaging environment for all members,” according to the team’s website. 

The students are also community volunteers who help support other organizations throughout Crescenta Valley. 

FIRST is a youth robotics non-profit that offers students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) hands-on experience that allows them to explore the world of robots and science. Each year FIRST invites students in robot clubs throughout the world to compete in a game designed for that specific season. The students only get a few weeks to learn the game presented, decide how they want to play the game and then design and build the robot that can play the game. Students must work together as a team from the beginning of the project as they not only decide the best way their robot could play the game but how they will approach the building of that robot. 

In addition to STEM skills, students learn how to outreach to their community and how to share their knowledge. The FIRST Impact Award highlights these efforts. 

“Falkon robotics was selected from 35 total teams at the event in recognition of our achievements in changing the culture around STEM. This award also earns Falkon robotics a spot at the Southern California District FIRST Robotics Competition Championship in April,” according to Abrams. 

One of the new programs created by Falkons is Falkonnect. 

“The Falkonnect program is a newly created initiative by 589 members to give students with special needs the opportunity to socialize with others,” said Noah Nam, student member of 589. “These students often lack ways to make friends with students outside of the special needs program due to the isolated nature of their classes. This program created a safe space for these students and members of our team to meet new friends through fun LEGO building sessions that also taught basic STEM and teamwork skills.” He added the program began last summer when he proposed the initiative, drawing from his experience volunteering at his church with special needs individuals. 

“We reached out to the LA28 accessibility manager to further see how we could accommodate these students. We also met with our school’s special education lead to present our idea and, before long, we held our first Falkonnect meeting in October, followed by two more in November. Next year, we plan to increase the number of student mentors within our team to bring the program to more classes and students,” Nam said. 

LA28 is the organizing committee for the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted in Los Angeles. 

“The program has brought so much joy to not just students but also the student mentors. As we walk into the room for each meeting, the students’ faces light up because they are excited to build LEGO and talk with our team members. Teachers of the classes, after every meeting, have shown great appreciation for our work within their classes, saying just how awesome it was to see the students actively engaged in the activity. An engineer with autism at the competition even complimented our efforts [by saying], ’Seeing what you guys did with the community and everything in incorporating students really made me appreciate it,’” Nam said. 

The 2026 team is made up of about 139 students. 

“[They] are both very bright and very kind. They care deeply about our community and making it better, and have put in an incredible 18,588 robotics build plus robotics outreach/volunteering hours this year so far. This year, major new community achievements include (1) the Falkonnect program, (2) bringing LEGO robotics to all five GUSD community schools [Cerritos, Columbus, Jefferson, Mann, Marshall], and (3) hosting a week-long robotics camp at the Verdugo Hills YMCA for two different age groups,” Abrams said. 

The second recognition is just as impressive. 

“This is especially incredible because WALL-E faced electrical issues all-day competition Day 1, but the students worked hard to diagnose issues and apply repairs for a recovery and come back on competition Day 2,” Abrams said. 

Abrams started out with the Falkons as a student but throughout college returned to help mentor the team. She has stayed with the program. 

“Falkon Robotics changed my life for the better – it’s the reason I had doors open to me to start my career in technology, and it shaped who I am and how I see myself in the world. Giving back to Falkon robotics is the least I could do. Plus, Falkon robotics is a wonderful group of students to spend time with. As one visitor told me about them, they are ‘talented, thoughtful, inquisitive. [The experience] left me feeling hopeful for the future,’” she recalled. 

The season for the Falkons is just starting. The team will be going to its second district competition, Aerospace Valley, in Lancaster on April 3 and April 4. The team  also qualified for the Southern California FIRST Robotics Competition District Championship at Anaheim Convention Center from April 10-12 where they will  compete against the best 60 teams from across Southern California.

Falkon robotics fundraise throughout the year to pay for the program including the fees to compete and travel. Anyone who is interested in supporting the team can donate by going to https://www.cvrobts.com.