A first-year robotics team made up of Utica–area refugees and led by SUNY Polytechnic Institute students “overcame numerous challenges” to place in the top 15 at a recent First Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics competition, the university announced.

Originally from Nigeria, Oghenekovie Evi-Parker (or Kovie as she’s known to friends) is a SUNY Poly senior majoring in mechanical engineering who started a robotics team at the Midtown Utica Community Center (MUCC) with Moe Zae, a junior majoring in computer science at SUNY Poly, as a way to introduce young refugees to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts and grow their interests as scientists.

“It is a tremendous source of pride for us at SUNY Poly to be able to reach out to the community and bring the knowledge and skills forged in our classrooms and labs to the next generation of young engineers,” said Dr. Bahgat Sammakia, interim president of SUNY Poly, said in a news release. “The students at the Midtown Utica Community Center faced numerous challenges while they sought to achieve their goal of forming a robotics team, but with the help and dedication of our students, together, they not only formed a team, but did so with stellar results.”

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