Robotics Whiz Kid Heads to College

Congratulations to Aaron Redepenning, captain of the Blizzard robotics team for the 2011-12 season, for being accepted to St Thomas University in the fall. He declared engineering as his major.

Aaron has been a valuable asset to Courage Center’s robotics programs, which have a unique emphasis on including youth with disabilities. Aaron was a mentor for the Abilitybots program in 2009, 2010, and intermittently in 2011. As a mentor, he was able to help the younger team members develop their ideas, troubleshoot problems, and teach the students how to program their robots.

Aaron was a founding team member for the Blizzard for the 2011 competition. He served on the build team, fabricating and assembling components for the robot. Because of Aaron’s abilities, he became one of the team’s spokespersons to present to judges about the technical aspects of the robot at the competition. He continued representing the team as a spokesperson, giving presentations for our sponsors during the summer of 2011. These included Tennant Company, jcpenney, and rehabilitation leadership at Courage Center.

Aaron was also an active participant at the team’s outreach events at Southdale Mall, the MN State Fair, Courage Center’s 5k Your Way, and the Minneapolis FLL Competition. At the 2011 10,000 Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics Competition, Aaron was one of two students to receive the prestigious Dean’s List Finalist Award.

Aaron also supported Courage Center by volunteering for the Assistive Technology Lab and snowboarding program and raising money for Courage Centers programs by running the 5k Your Way. Aaron’s commitment to volunteerism earned him an award for over 100 volunteer hours served.

The team wishes Aaron the best as he continues his education, and looks forward to his return as an alumni mentor.

Editor's Note: The content above was provided by a press release from Courage Center.