Morgan County Mech Tech –FIRST Team #3959, which is hosted at Brewer High School, is one of 900 high school teams being sponsored this year by JCPenney.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a not-for-profit organization founded by Dean Kame to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology by engaging them in innovative robotics competitions.

Morgan County Mech Tech is a rookie team comprised of high school level students from throughout the Morgan County School System. It will spend six intensive weeks designing and building an original robot for the FIRST Regional Competition scheduled for March 15-17 in Duluth, Ga.

“Having our students involved in FIRST is not just about increasing educational opportunities in science and technology,” said Tim Sharp, lead mentor. “It instills well-rounded life capabilities such as self-confidence, communication and leadership. “The sponsorship of jcpenney represents a commitment to building the future leaders of tomorrow by making youth participation in FIRST possible.”

Jcpenney’s sponsorship of 900 FIRST teams this school year reinforces the company’s goal to introduce the program to more schools and communities throughout the U.S. and encourage greater participation among minority and female students. Its record of working with national youth organizations through its signature charity, jcpenney afterschool, helps make it possible for more students to become involved in life enriching learning opportunities during after school hours.

Schools, communities and government agree on the need to improve the nation’s global economic competitiveness by increasing aptitudes in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) among America’s youth. Studies show that FIRST students are three times more likely to major in engineering in college, 10 times as likely to have an apprenticeship their freshman year, more than twice as likely to pursue a science or technology career, and nearly four times as likely to pursue a career in engineering.