The South Eugene Robotics team, known as SERT, has achieved the impressive accomplishment of being ranked No. 1 in the Pacific Northwest for the first time. This achievement has granted them the opportunity to compete in the World Championships in Houston, Texas. University of Oregon Professor Paul Dassonville, who serves as a mentor for SERT, emphasized the significance of this ranking and their success at the Northwest District competition.

At the competition, SERT claimed victory in two events, a first in the team’s history. Dassonville highlighted the growth and collaboration within the team, with older members passing down their knowledge and skills to newer members. This mentorship has led to continued improvement and success for SERT as they design and build robots for competitions that test their racing and skills abilities.

With the World Championships approaching, SERT is gearing up to compete against 600 robotics teams from around the globe over the course of a four-day event starting on April 17th. Dassonville noted that outside of competition season, the team remains active in community outreach and service projects. In order to fund their trip to the World competition, SERT is actively raising money through avenues such as a Go Fund Me page and other donation options available on their website, sert2521.org.