Girls of Steel Robotics Team

Floor Speech

Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Girls of Steel robotics team on winning the Engineering Inspiration Award at the 2014 Pittsburgh Regional F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition.

This is the third year in a row in which they have won this prestigious award, which goes to the team that does the most to increase appreciation for engineering in its community. I think that the remarkable accomplishment of winning this award three years running speaks volumes about the dedication these young women have to engineering as well as their considerable talent.

The Girls of Steel also won the Entrepreneurship Award at both the Buckeye Regional and the Greater Pittsburgh Regional competitions. This award recognizes a team that developed the best business plan to identify, manage, and accomplish its objectives.

F.I.R.S.T., which stands for ``For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,'' is an organization dedicated to engaging our students in the vital fields of science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM). Hundreds of thousands of students gain practical, team-based engineering experiences through F.I.R.S.T. every year.

As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, I believe competitions like these are incredible tools for helping our young people explore potential careers in STEM. I've witnessed firsthand the incredible economic growth and development that these fields can bring in my home district, and I strongly believe that these fields are crucial to our Nation's future prosperity. For encouraging young people in these pursuits, I want to commend organizations like F.I.R.S.T. for their important work. The F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition allows students to apply creativity and critical thinking in the demanding and competitive field of robotics, all while instilling a strong sense of pride in participants.

Thirty-nine young women from high schools located in and around the Pittsburgh area are members of this year's Girls of Steel, and in recognition of their hard work, intelligence, and teamwork, I would like to mention each of these inspiring ladies by name. They are Isabella Arnone, Sonia Appasamy, Arushi Bandi, Elizabeth Bianchini, Grace Brueggman, Abbey Ceraso, Rachel Cherian, Claudia Contreras, Laurel Donatelli, Samantha Eppinger, Clarisa Espinoza-Delgado, Mackenzie Ferris, Naoka Gunawardena, Heather Harrington, Rosanne Harrison, Sydney Hnat, Shoko Kanemoto, Campbell Konrad, Elizabeth Kysel, Jisue Lee, Sylvia Lee, Sophia Lee, Cheyenne Meyers, Gigi Nieson, Anne Kailin Northam, Maddie Oppelt, Simran Parwani, Korryn Resetar, Rachel Round, Kaitlyn Schaffer, Kriti Shah, Grace Schneider, Katie Shreve, Makalya Shreve, Lynn Urbina, Molly Urbina, Becca Volk, Alayna Yates, and Natalie Young.

I would also like to mention that that two of the Girls of Steel, Simran Parwani of Fox Chapel High School and Sylvie Lee from Shady Side Academy, were awarded the prestigious F.I.R.S.T. Dean's List Award. This award highlights and celebrates exemplary student leaders who demonstrate and embody F.I.R.S.T.'s ideals.

Additionally, I want to convey my sincere appreciation to the staff of Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center, who have mentored the Girls of Steel since 2010. Because of their efforts, more young women can experience real-world technological challenges and learn from some of the Nation's best at solving these problems. These experiences will certainly benefit these young women in the future.

I look forward to hearing about their progress as they advance to the F.I.R.S.T. Championship in St. Louis--the final and largest competition of its kind. This will be their fourth trip in four years and they will be competing against top teams from all over the world. I congratulate the Girls of Steel and wish them all continued success in their academic and professional endeavors.

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