Alex Henry is a returning member of Team Barbados who is excited to attend this year’s FGC in Singapore to gain further experience and meet new people from different cultures around the world. He thinks the theme Hydrogen Horizons is great and imagines himself designing hydrogen-powered inventions to protect the earth from harmful carbon emissions to help reduce the use of non-renewable resources. He believes he can gain knowledge from these competitions to create robotic designs in Barbados that will help to reduce the island’s carbon footprint. Alex’s passions include art, design, electronics and of course robotics. He recalls that in his early childhood he enjoyed breaking down toys and putting them back together, making innovative Lego designs, drawing and inventing new ideas for various artwork, and using science kits given as gifts. The opportunity to attend a robotics camp in 2018 fuelled his passion for inventing robotic creations and since then he has never stopped attending these camps.

Terese Holder is grateful for the opportunity offered by FIRST Global and expects to make her family and country proud as a member of Team Barbados. She is a seventeen year old student of the Combermere School who is mainly interested in the designing aspect of robotics, since she is currently studying art at an advanced level. Terese recognises the importance of the theme Hydrogen Horizons as it speaks to the progress that humans have made in extracting oxygen from water which is a method she believes can go as far as reducing water waste and producing more oxygen. She feels that since Singapore is known for producing renewable energy, the two go hand in hand. Therefore, Terese is looking forward to FGC not only for the fun and exposure, but also to experience Singapore’s rich culture.

Jaylon Waterman is a seventeen year old student of the Combermere School and attending the 2023 FGC means a lot to him as he represents both his school and country. He has always had a love for building things and is studying advanced electronics and electrical engineering with the aid of mentor, Mr. Matthew Douglas. Jaylon is especially interested in the building and electrical aspect of robotics. In his view, the theme Hydrogen Horizons shows the advances that scientists have made toward using hydrogen as power, and he is excited for the opportunity to compete. Jaylon mostly looks forward to learning from the experience of other teams, as well as the opportunity to experience Singapore’s culture and see more of the world.

Omia Lynch is very interested in robotics and believes that there are many innovative students who would be able to make it thrive in Barbados. She loves how challenging coding the bots can be, and is fascinated by having to use creativity and imagination to come up with designs. Omia thinks that FGC is an exciting way to experience new things, meet people from around the world, as well as make connections and meaningful friendships.

Alexa Clarke is a first time member of Team Barbados and also the youngest. She attends Queen’s College and loves everything to do with science, engineering and coding. She hopes to meet new people who are also interested in robotics in order to share, brainstorm and hear the wonderful ideas which others may have. Alexa has always been amazed by the fact that almost any material can be used to build robots which can be programmed to do practically anything. She believes that robots can be made to better our lives and the planet on which we live, something that she hopes to do one day.

Nicholas Murray Lewis is more than excited to travel to Singapore for this year’s FGC as it is his first time attending this type of robotics event. The theme is particularly meaningful to him as he is very interested in the development of robotics. Ever since he was small, Nicholas imagined himself creating robots and mostly enjoys being able to see the new creation come to life and perform the tasks it was built to do in the first place. He believes that FIRST Global competitions could help to shine more light on Barbados and show the world that it is more than a tiny island in the middle of the sea.

Team Barbados is mentored by Mr. Matthew Douglas, an Electronics and Electrical Technology Teacher at the Combermere School, with over twenty-five years’ experience teaching at the secondary school level. He is keen to share his knowledge and experience in robotics with young children in order to lay a foundation for further development, and works tirelessly after classes and during vacation periods to teach and mentor students.

Mr. Tyrese Boyce, a former team member, has been involved since 2018 and continues to share his expertise with each new cohort of students as the Assistant Mentor. Earlier this year, he successfully completed a BSc. in Computer Science with Electronics, and has begun working in a related field.

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