Earlier this month, students with the Red Lake High School Robotics team had the opportunity to visit sunny Palm Springs, CA, to attend the annual AISES National Conference from October 6-8, 2022.
The Annual AISES National Conference is a unique, three-day event focusing on educational, professional, and workforce development for Indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Islands in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) studies and careers. Attendees include Indigenous high school and college students, educators, and professionals, including representatives from Tribal Nations, Tribal enterprises, and Indigenous-owned businesses. The conference also includes the LARGEST college and career fair in the U.S. for Indigenous students and professionals! Exhibitors at the College and Career fair represent a diverse range of corporations, educational institutions, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and Indigenous-owned businesses.
Take a look below at the photo journal from the students:
Tuesday was travel day. And boy did we travel!
We met at the school to drive to FARGO. At the Fargo Airport, we met Mr. Lutz and his wife as they traveled too. It was all four students’ first time flying. They handled it like PROS. We had multiple flights before we reached our destination. We took a crisscross journey to Palm Springs. We went from FARGO to DENVER, then DENVER to SAN JOSE, and finally SAN JOSE to PALM SPRINGS. We made it to our connecting flights and had minimal delays. By the time we were getting on the third plane, the team was acting like frequent flyers! I am SO proud of them.
We traveled to our hotel via taxi due to our first failed Uber attempt. It took two taxis to get us and our luggage to the hotel. After checking in we ordered a late snack due to missing supper. Then it was lights out as it was after midnight our time.
Wednesday was STEM Activity Day.
Since we had a LATE arrival to California, we started the day a little later so we all could get some much-needed rest. After breakfast at the hotel, we walked to the Palm Springs Convention Center. It was a beautiful walk, but much warmer than we are used to. The air-conditioned Convention Center was WONDERFUL!
We registered and waited around for the STEM Activity Day to begin. At the STEM Activity, we received passports and explored the different stations. We built, experimented, and learned all afternoon.
We had another WARM walk back to the hotel, but we were rewarded with cool rooms and playtime at the pool.
For supper, we went to a nearby Mexican Restaurant and came back to the hotel for more swimming. Then lights out, on to day 3!
Thursday was a sightseeing day.
We walked the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. With over 400 stars bearing the names of well-known celebrities and notable local personalities, we recognized some of those who lived in Palm Springs – Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Lucille Ball, to name a few. We got hot on our walk so some of us took an Uber back to the hotel. The Uber picked up alongside the road, GPS is amazing. The rest of us went to the Convention Center to set up our robotics area for the College and Career Fair.
Our supper was authentic Italian cuisine. Some of our students tried Calamari (squid)! The restaurant was small, and they were wonderful to all 21 of us. It was a nice time for all four teams to get acquainted.
Then we went back to the hotel to swim and play together until lights out.
Friday was College and Career Fair Day.
We were up bright and early to arrive at the Convention Center by 8:00 AM. We took turns greeting people, showing off our robots, talking about FIRST Robotics Programs, visiting college and business booths, and chasing cargo that jumped out of our field area.
We met and talked with high school students, college students, teachers, executives, and interested people walking by our booth. Some were even invited to drive the robots (under the supervision of drive team members). It was a long day, but a rewarding experience. Our Apple contact, Matt Lussier, came over (bringing Apple swag), visited with us, and played with the robots. After 3:00 PM, we packed the robots to ship back to our schools and cleaned up our area.
Since we were exhausted, most stayed at the hotel and had supper via GrubHub, a new experience for most. We took advantage of the California weather and spent time at the pool until lights out.
Saturday was our last full day in California.
Some of our Robotics friends were leaving this morning, so we spent time with them at breakfast. We started packing our bags to see if we had any room left.
We attended the AISES Student Luncheon, where they honored scholarship awardees and poster presentation winners. After lunch, we participated in a session entitled- “The AISES Adventure: Your adventure through finance!”
Then, we walked about, looking for that last gift for family and friends. We ended up with things for ourselves too! We ate an early supper and returned to the hotel for one last swim before the Pow Wow. The Pow Wow was lovely, with everyone from different tribes dancing together. We didn’t stay until midnight as we had an early flight to catch on Sunday.
Traveling home!
We woke up at 5:00 AM so we could get to the airport and through security before our 8:30 AM flight. Our journey home was a long one with delays and layovers. We flew from PALM SPRINGS to PHOENIX. Our next flight was from PHOENIX to CHICAGO, and we were on a larger plane with individual entertainment at each seat. We were held up on the plane for an hour while they loaded baggage by hand as their machine was broken. It was worrisome for me because I was in the back of the plane and couldn't see the rest of our group. I worried they would get off the plane. But I guess everyone wanted to get home because they all made it to CHICAGO.
We had delays with our flight from CHICAGO to FARGO. We were scheduled to leave at 6:30 PM but didn’t leave until almost 11:00 PM. We were tired when we arrived in FARGO at 12:30 AM. All students were safely delivered to their parents by 4:00 AM.
WOW! What a trip!