Mentor Bios
Our US FIRST FRC mentors come from a range of backgrounds to support STEAM. We have programmers, mechanical engineers, electrical, animators and web design. The mentors years of of services range from 2 years upto 16 years or more. Learn more about our mentors in their bios below:
Meet Our Lead Mentor
Mr. Kevin Schlegel
Kevin Schlegel started with Raider Robotics in 2008 because he thought it looked really fun, and became the lead mentor in 2009. He is also involved with Pal-Mac’s sports teams, as he coaches boy’s soccer. Additionally he teaches as many tech classes as he can. Outside of school, he enjoys hunting, fishing, golfing and camping.
Raider Robotics Team 1518
Meet our Mentors
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Our mentors work with students and other teams with the philosophy of coopertition. They dedicate hundreds of hours annually to support the team. Learn more about our mentors below.
Second Lead Mentor
Jackie Dipzinski
Mrs. Dipzinski has been with the team since the 2011-2012 season. She made the decision to help out because her children and husband were involved. She enjoys helping students with the organization, sponsorship, website, art, and computer tasks. When not teaching or helping with robotics she likes sailing, fishing, hiking, biking, photography, geocaching, and traveling.
Programming
Tim Poulsen
Mr. Poulsen has been with the team since 2014-2015. He has always enjoyed programming and building, so after hearing about the team, he joined right away. He hopes to help the team build a robot that will successfully win the challenge. His hobbies include programming, drinking coffee, and bird watching. If her could go anywhere, Tim would travel to the Court of Camelot.
Mechanical Engineering Mentor
Larry Dipzinski
Mr. Dipzinski has been with the team since the 2011-2012 season. He decided to mentor so he could spend more time with his twins. He also wanted to share his knowledge with the next generation. He is a Mechanical Engineer at Xerox and he brings in models on his computer using Working model 2D. In his regular life he likes working with computers, hunting, fishing, hiking, geocaching, and traveling.
Programming
Jim Herrman
Mr. Herrmann is a former FLL Lead Mentor and is now a mentor for the FRC team. He has been with the team since 2014-2015. He joined as a mentor when his son started on the team. He enjoys seeing the creativity of the students when trying to solve the challenges. Outside of robotics, Mr. Herrmann works with Scout Troop 96 in Palmyra, and work with Civil Air Patrol squadron in Newark.
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Mechanical Engineering
Howie Barnes
Mr. Barnes started as a student on the team during high school. He attended RIT after high school. He then has come back annually as a junior mentor during college breaks, since, 2018 to assist the team. He then transitioned 2023 to a full mentor for the team.
Build Mentor
Alan Rothfuss, Jr
Additional Information will be added.