Building Together: A Journey of Inclusion and Impact

Hello FIRST Ladies readers, we are Failing Formally, an FTC team out of Lexington, KY. We just ended our third season and already are gearing up for our fourth. As a homeschool community team, we are unique in that we have the flexibility of creating an environment where both homeschoolers and public schoolers are welcome. We are currently a team of eleven and have learned the true meaning of teamwork over the past three years. Our main focus as an FTC team has always been inclusivity and helping to promote gender inclusion within the field of STEM. When we say we have the most supportive males on our team, we truly mean it. Our girls are both active within FIRST Ladies and First Like a Girl and help promote both wonderful organizations everywhere we go.

​We currently have two active members who are on the Student Board of Directors in KY and are excited to showcase FIRST Ladies at the upcoming Run for the Robots event in June. Additional experiences where our team has been able to successfully promote FIRST Ladies have been at E-Day at the University of Kentucky and various outreach events. Our outreach members are currently working with various Girl Scout troops to organize STEM events with local chapters.

As a team, we meet weekly during the season and have found great success in working with three separate teams. We have a programming team, a build team, and a design team. We have a lot of crossover between the two and hope that each member leaves our team with the capability to accomplish each task. We look forward to continuing our regional partnership with FIRST Ladies and hope to continue to see more local teams join this fantastic organization. Thank you for allowing us to be here and for taking the time to read our blog.

Failing Formally FTC 21623