On November 25, 2025, Terabridges had the opportunity to meet with Senator Devlin Robinson to discuss our FIRST Robotics advocacy initiative.
In Western Pennsylvania, participation in FIRST programs is lower than on the eastern side of the state. This gap is reflected in the fewer teams and competitions across all three programs – FLL, FTC, and FRC. Philadelphia places a much stronger emphasis on FIRST involvement than Pittsburgh, as seen by last year’s Philadelphia FIRST grant, which helps cover team expenses and encourages adults to serve as volunteer coaches.
We deeply value the opportunities that FIRST provides, which is why Terabridges is pushing for comparable support systems in our region to create a more balanced level of participation across the state. Ultimately, increasing the number of teams in Western PA will strengthen the overall FIRST community throughout Pennsylvania.
To start our meeting with Senator Robinson, we gave a brief tour of our facility. After this, we created and presented a pitch to Senator Robinson to explain a little bit about our team and how the amazing impact of FIRST has affected us. In explaining FIRST, we mentioned the variety of areas that span from outreach to programming and much more, which have immensely benefited everyone on Terabridges. In demonstrating the countless benefits of FIRST, we highlighted to Senator Robinson how influential FIRST can be for students. Yet, in Western Pennsylvania, there is considerably less participation. Afterward, for a little bit of fun, we introduced this year’s game to Senator Robinson and let him drive around our robot.
All in all, our meeting with Senator Robinson proved to be extremely beneficial, as we clearly conveyed the limitless potential of what FIRST can do for students, and we gained another valuable connection in our pursuit to bring a greater robotics community.