Schools
UCS team takes national title in robotics competition
Niken Patel and Logan Lawler, a team from the Utica Center for Science and Industry (CSI), earned first place in the SkillsUSA competition.
Two Utica Community Schools 2025 graduates were named national champions in a robotics and automation problem-solving competition that featured top students from across 24 states.
Niken Patel and Logan Lawler, a team from the Utica Center for Science and Industry (CSI), earned first place in the SkillsUSA competition in late June. This is the second year of a CSI team earning a national title in the competition.
“Niken and Logan are proof that hard work and dedication to your craft can provide big dividends in the end,” said their advisor, mechatronics teacher Scott Spry. “The experience and networking they were able to achieve have already paid off. I think they will remember this week for many years."
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The students earned the top spot in a competition that required them to make a robot perform a specific task by creating a “cell” – the component needed for robots to perform a task on the assembly line.
Both Patel and Lawler graduated from CSI in June and will be attending Western Michigan University in the fall to study engineering.
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The students were also recently asked by an international robotics leader - FANUC Robotics - to take two certification tests which they each passed.
CSI students have participated in the Skills USA Robotics and Automation for the last 10 years. They have gone to the national tournament five times, taking two gold medals, one bronze medal and two top 10 honors.
CSI is a half-day, nationally recognized high school specialty program in UCS that provides students the opportunity to explore careers in mechatronics, multi-media program or engineering technology. In addition to CSI, Patel attended Henry Ford II High School and Lawler attended Eisenhower High School.
A nonprofit national education association, SkillsUSA serves middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations.
Source - Utica Community Schools
Robert S. Monroe, Superintendent of Schools
