DURHAM, N.C. – Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE: WOLF) has announced its sponsorship of the FIRST® Robotics Competition, a hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program that combines the excitement of athletics with the rigors of science and technology for high school students. This sponsorship builds upon the company’s relationship with FIRST Robotics Competition, with Wolfspeed first announcing a $25,000 donation in November 2019 to the SUNY Poly Foundation to provide support for SUNY Polytechnic Institute FIRST® (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) teams and the Muccbots, a team in Utica, New York.
“We are thrilled to be a sponsor of the FIRST® Robotics Competition in our communities,” said Wolfspeed Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Tamara Pearce. “Our company represents 35 years of innovation, and we are proud to contribute as the participants work together to create solutions and change the world for better. The jobs of the future don’t even exist yet, but this program helps develop the curiosity and problem-solving needed to be successful and adaptive to any challenges that the coming years may bring.”
FIRST is the world’s leading youth-serving not-for-profit advancing STEM education. Their high school-age program, FIRST Robotics Competition, challenges teams of students to build and program industrial-sized robots, ultimately playing a field game in an alliance with other teams and competing to attend the annual FIRST Championship. The program mimics real-world engineering scenarios and develops supplemental skillsets, such as collaboration, fundraising, and marketing. The competition’s 2023 theme will focus on United Nations’ sustainable development goal of ensuring access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all. Wolfspeed employees have previously supported the program by serving as judges for the Arkansas-area competitions.
“Building on their continued commitment to endorse STEM programs and minimize opportunity gaps for underrepresented populations, we are proud to have Wolfspeed’s support as a sponsor,” said Collin Fultz, Senior Program Director of FIRST Robotics Competition. “As a leader in Silicon Carbide technology that helps to create a clean energy future for all, this partnership gives our participants yet another example of how teamwork paves the way for a brighter tomorrow.”
Wolfspeed seeks to create positive change from both within its labs and in its local communities, with STEM education being a vital component of the company’s core values. As part of its announced sustainability goals, Wolfspeed is seeking to establish STEM partnerships at 100 percent of its major locations by 2025. By serving as a sponsor for FIRST Robotics Competition in Durham, North Carolina; Morgan Hill, California; Fayetteville Arkansas; and Mesa, Arizona, Wolfspeed has made good progress on fulfilling this commitment.
About FIRST
FIRST is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured after-school programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges. An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. Learn more at firstinspires.org.