We are pleased to announce that Emily Bendremer '19 has received the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Design Innovation Scholarship. The scholarship is the largest awarded by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) "a multinational, nonprofit organization that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today."
"Each year, WPI awards a full-tuition, four-year undergraduate scholarship (valued at approximately $190,000) to a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) or FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team student participant." Emily competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition with The Brain Busters robotics team, a home-based, community team founded by Emily herself.
With her interest in aerospace engineering, WPI was her top choice school when applying for colleges. Once she received the news that she had been accepted into WPI, she decided to apply to the Design Innovation Scholarship. She had to create a video explaining one aspect of her team's robot. In the five-minute video, Emily explained how the robot climbs and the mechanics behind it. The team's technique was especially unique because they did not purchase any parts and instead came up with a unique design as a team.
Emily says receiving the scholarship was a complete surprise and she could not contain her excitement once she found out. She is honored and thankful for her robotics team and her parents. Emily is excited to attend WPI and although she is interested in pursuing a major in aerospace engineering, she says one of the benefits of being accepted to WPI is that you are not accepted to one specific major so she will be keeping her options open.