Alumni
How Redbird Robotics affected students
THOMAS MALTESE
Year Graduated: 2025
Subteam(s): Machining
Redbirds Robotics gave me valuable technical skills as well as leadership and teamwork skills. It fueled my passion for designing and engineering and pushed me to pursue engineering in college.
Currently, I am doing Mechanical Engineering at Auburn University.
TUCKER THOMAS
Year Graduated: 2025
Subteam(s): Electrical, Design
Redbird Robotics has given me the hard and soft skills I need to succeed as an engineer and as a contributing member of society. On the team, I made my greatest friends and learned things that will last me a lifetime.
Right now, I am attending Northeastern University in Boston as a Mechanical Engineering major.
JEREMY GEORGE
Year Graduated: 2025
Subteam(s): Build
Redbird Robotics has taught me many valuable STEM skills and leadership skills that will be with me for the rest of my life. Collaborating with others and making friends along the way was a huge highlight in high school and I will be forever grateful for the opportunities it gave me.
I am currently a Freshman Undergraduate studying Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville
EVANGELINE HUEY
Year Graduated: 2025
Subteam(s): Programming
Redbird Robotics gave me a chance to build my team skills and find a second family at Allentown. When I joined my sophomore year, I simply wanted to learn something new: programming. As I progressed through my years on the team I realized that being a part of 1807 was more than learning a specialized skill. It was building a culture with my teammates over long hours spent assembling parts and debugging code, sitting in the pits fixing up our robot during a match break, and eating team dinners that we really just used to discuss more ideas. While I may have now pivoted away from engineering and computer science in college, I guarantee that my experience on the team has remained with me. I still use my problem-solving skills and work in a team on a daily basis now in college, and I can thank 1807 for helping me build this strong foundation!
I am currently a Biology major at Rutgers on the pre med track. I am also in Army ROTC which utilizes lots of my leadership skills that I fostered on the team!
RYAN HORN
Year Graduated: 2024
Subteam(s): Mechanical
Robotics gave me significant experience with teamwork, leadership, organization, and technical skills, and helped confirm that I wanted to pursue a career in engineering. It was also a lot of fun and made my high school experience better overall. I now feel like I have a pretty big leg up on my peers in college who didn’t take robotics and who are now learning how to create design concepts and use Computer Aided Design software, while I already have several years of experience with those things from robotics.
I am currently getting a degree in Mechanical Engineering
TIA BAJAJ
Year Graduated: 2024
Subteam(s): Design and Strategy
Few things have impacted me so deeply that I can’t imagine who I’d be without them. Working alongside my teammates and mentors who embody creativity and perseverance taught me what it means to give everything to something bigger than yourself. From starting as a freshman designer, to becoming the Design Captain and Drive Coach, my passion for leadership and engineering has only grown. The late nights, challenges, and victories will always remind me why I fell in love with engineering.
I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. I work at the Cal Poly CubeSat Lab with NASA JPL projects, earned SOLIDWORKS and machining verifications, and am developing TARA, a NASA-based web platform I’ll present at the 2025 AHFE Hawaii Conference. I’m also active in the Society of Women Engineers.
MELISSA DOMEN
Year Graduated: 2022
Subteam(s): Business
Participating in Redbird Robotics has given me business skills outside of a traditional classroom. Skills such as business plan writing, securing grants, fundraising, communicating with businesses, and public speaking are all skills that I developed on Redbird Robotics and continue to use today. The most memorable experiences were traveling to compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship in Detroit (2019), and starting the FIRST Lego League teams at Stone Bridge Middle School.
I am currently a student at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania, studying accounting and finance as a Joseph Wharton Scholar. At college, I am active with many student organizations on campus including Wharton Actuarial & Accounting Group, Wharton Undergraduate Statistics Society, VITA@Penn, Common Cents, Penn Band, Penn Wind Ensemble, and Crochet/Knitting Club. Additionally, I am a Teaching Assistant for a statistics course and Research Assistant within the finance department. With FIRST Robotics, I volunteered at the Allentown District Event in 2024.
SYDNEY MILLER
Year Graduated: 2023
Subteam(s): Build
I had no idea what I wanted to study in college until I joined the team and fell in love with robotics. I was a super shy person who Redbird Robotics helped get out of my shell, have a voice, and feel comfortable sharing my ideas. Being surrounded by such a supportive and motivated group of people pushed me to take on challenges I never thought I could handle. It taught me how to lead, how to fail and try again, and how rewarding it is to create something as a team. Redbird Robotics also gave me some of my best friends for life, a few who even go to WPI with me, so we can still build robots together.
I am currently studying Robotics Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, for both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I have an internship this summer that I can’t share details about yet, but it’s completely because of the experience and connections I gained through Redbird Robotics.
BRIAN POSLUSZNY
Year Graduated: 2021
Subteam(s): Build, Machining, Pit Crew
Robotics allowed me to grow as an individual. I was able to further my skills in problem solving and learn how to operate in fast paced environments. The team building aspects were also very valuable to me. I believe that RR set me up for a great career with the skill set I was able to build during my time on the team.
I went to Rutgers for industrial and systems engineering. I had an internship with Jane street this past summer as an IT operations engineer and have secured a full time job with them after I finish school this semester.
ELIZABETH OLSHANETSKY
Year Graduated: 2019
Subteam(s): Business
Robotics completely shaped me into the person I am now, and I feel like I owe most of my opportunities to my time on 1807. I learned a lot by starting the business team, most importantly that it’s always worthwhile to meet lots of different people, and if you ask somebody something, the worst they could say is no.
I went to Yale where I studied Computer Science & Art with a focus on design, now I work in User Experience Strategy at Nasdaq!
JARED SKIDMORE
Year Graduated: 2019
Subteam(s): Electrical
Redbird Robotics taught me a lot about teamwork, teaching others, and work ethic. I got to work with really brilliant mentors like Mr Tackett, Ed Kohler, Dave White and others, and I met some of my closest friends. Robotics showed me parts of the world I would never have seen otherwise, like Detroit and St Louis. Most importantly it made me realize my passion for engineering across multiple disciplines- not just mechanical but also electrical, pneumatic, and a little coding. Robotics has had such a profound impact on me; I will never forget the wonderful memories from my time with the team, and I could not recommend anything more highly than being a part of 1807.
I went to Stevens Institute of Technology and got my masters in mechanical engineering after doing my bachelors in the same major with minor degrees in electrical engineering and philosophy. Now I work as a production engineer for Heartland, the company that makes Splenda, at their stevia extraction facility in Florida.
SAM KOHLER
Year Graduated: 2018
Subteam(s): Build, Electrical, Design
I developed leadership and problem solving skills when put under a strict deadline (we had a 6 week build period and had to bag the robot back then) and managing multiple projects at once. I also gained an understanding for basic machines and have applied that to fix equipment at my job. I also met one of my best friends Tommy.
I work in fine dining, volunteer for 1807 and volunteer at my church.
