The robotics team at Central High School in Philadelphia known as the RoboLancers is helping students build relationships while it prepares the next generation of STEM leaders, reports Matt DeLucia for NBC10 Philadelphia.

The robotics team started as a small group, but today it has 168 members.

“The team has grown from a sort of small ragtag bunch into a big ragtag bunch,” said RoboLancers advisor Michael Johnson.

The team has recently been working on Lucy, a robot that is designed to lift cones and blocks. But an even more important aspect of the group is lifting one another. For some of them, being part of the team has been life-changing.

The team is also driving the next wave of techies, programmers, and competitors at 143 schools in Philadelphia.

“We provide funding, we provide training for the coaches, workshops for the students, running the events,” said Johnson.

For those efforts, the team was recently recognized with the First Impact Award. The RoboLancers took first place out of 84 regional winners.

“It’s a huge opportunity, as students, to be able to run this ourselves,” said Lily Sand, Central High School sophomore.

Read more about the RoboLancers at NBC10 Philadelphia.

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NBC10’s Matt DeLucia finds out how a “ragtime bunch” of Central High School students and their RoboLancers advisor Michael Johnson are building relationships while building robots. Their efforts are being recognized.