Academies of Loudoun Senior Receives Women in STEM Scholarship

Olivia Sun, an Academies of Loudoun (ACL) senior and member of ACL’s FIRST Robotics Competition Team – RoboLoCo – was awarded a $2,000 Women in Stem Scholarship sponsored by Dominion Energy and FIRST Chesapeake, a division of the nonprofit FIRST, which hosts annual robotics competitions.

Sun, the team leader of the ACL RoboLoCo Creative subteam, has been a part of FIRST for eight years and ACL RoboLoCo for four years. Sun collaborated with both the non-technical and technical subteams to create the distinct identity of RoboLoCo. In her freshman year, she created the mascot Gerald the Safety Lemon; in the years since she has been an essential part of the team and has contributed to many vital aspects of RoboLoco.

When asked about receiving the scholarship, Sun said, "I am grateful to get the scholarship and represent the Academies of Loudoun RoboLoCo and in this experience. The scholarship ceremony was a great opportunity to meet the other recipients and make new connections!"

The RoboLoCo team is one of several thousand FIRST Robotics Competition teams across the globe. FIRST releases a new challenge every year, and teams have nine weeks to build a robot to compete with and solve the challenge. Succeeding in the competition requires problem-solving skills, creativity and analytical reasoning.

Published March 16, 2023