​FIRST is an international organization which uses competitive robotics as a vehicle for promoting science & technology. FIRST allows high school students to work side by side with professional mentors to learn a multitude of skills such as engineering, marketing, animation and business.

Under strict rules, limited resources, and the guidance of volunteer mentors including engineers, teachers, business professionals, parents, alumni and more, teams of 25+ students have just six weeks to build and program robots to perform challenging tasks against a field of competitors. They must also raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and perform community outreach. In addition to learning valuable STEM and life skills, participants are eligible to apply for $50+ million in college scholarships. Find Team 4717 FIRST Statistics here.

It’s way more than building robots. FIRST Tech Challenge teams (10+ members, grades 7-12) are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. More information here.

Please help support our Robotics team on Go Fund Me link can be found here

Interested in sponsoring our team? Contact Sam Black at Email Sam Black or contact our team at Emal LHS Robotics. Depending on the amount your business donated, you may receive a spot on our banner, trailer, website, t-shirt, robot cart, tool boxes, and robot!

Team 4717 has done over 7500 hours of community outreach service within the past three years, a record advancement in engagement with our local community. This year we focused on creating DIY STEM kits with the Children’s Home of Lubbock, the Guadalupe Somerville-Parkway centers, the Science Spectrum, and the Advanced Technology center. Team 4717’s mission is to spread STEM to people of all ages and backgrounds. We have also collaborated with all-girls teams from the Talkington School for Young Women Leaders during FTC meets and mentored LEGO robotics teams at Hutchinson and Cavazos middle schools.

The team has used its repurposed FTC robots and old FRC drive bases to demonstrate robotics to middle school students at our school's open house to recruit more promising young minds into our team. Our unique mentorship arrangement where the older, more experienced students teach the new generation ensures that every single member learns what they need, and our team is run in a sustainable manner.