Assets School’s Robotics Team Waffles heads to the 2025 FIRST World Championships in Houston, Texas, from April 16 to 19, as Team Waffles earned the event’s highest honor, the Inspire Award.
The Inspire Award is given to a team recognized for its strong leadership, community outreach, professionalism, and overall excellence on and off the playing field. This award is given to the team that truly represents the spirit of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). The winning team is a role model for others, showcasing teamwork, kindness, and professionalism. They excel in building and designing robots. The judges were especially impressed by their efforts to share robotics with their community, sponsors, and other teams while remaining gracious competitors.
Team Waffles eats waffles like a family before each competition. The team that eats together wins together.
Team Waffles Coach Emi Hagiwara said, "It’s nice to see the team put in so much effort and energy to this season and to come out with this award. It is a team effort, and we truly appreciate the recognition.”
In addition to the Inspire Award, Team Waffles member Andrew “Bo” '26, was named a Dean's List Award Finalist at the FIRST Tech Challenge State Championships on Sunday, Dec. 15. Among all the impressive nominees, Bo stood out for his significant contributions. His community outreach goes beyond teaching and presenting STEM and robotics to other students. He was recognized for his compassion, emotional intelligence, humility, and passion for robotics.
Bo joined the team this year. “When I got called, it was happiness and adrenaline,” said Bo. “I created an audiobook of the competition manual for our team, who are neurodiverse and may have dyslexia, to make it easier for everyone. Then, I shared it with any team using it on YouTube. It has over 6,000 views from 400 FTC teams. I helped other teams with coding. I checked in with them to see how they were doing and what they needed help with. I am grateful for this opportunity.”
His mother, Leigh Lasher, said she is happy about her son’s accomplishments.
“He works hard in school, which is important to him,” Mrs. Lasher said. “To watch him get noticed for that was wonderful. Assets saved my son. He has attended since the fourth grade. I can’t say enough about the school and everyone who works there, from the teachers, the staff, the janitors, and everyone.”
Of the more than 200 Dean's List Finalists from the USA, Canada, and internationally, only 10 will be selected for scholarship considerations and other prizes, at the World Championship. This is the third time an Assets student was selected as a Dean’s List Award Finalist. Aren Karr, Class of 2024, was chosen in 2023, and Emily Kurashima, Class of 2025, was chosen in 2024. Kurashima was one of 10 winners selected out of over 200 robotics student leaders worldwide last season.
The last time Team Waffles went to the FIRST World Championship was in 2023, as the winners of the Hawaii State Championship.
Team Waffles coaches are Assets teachers Emi Hagiwara, who teaches Japanese, and Miles Yamamoto, who teaches Physics and Biology. Team Waffles was started in 2018 by the Assets School Robotics Program Director Peter Han.
As of August 2024, 71 students have graduated from Assets as robotics participants, with the majority pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees post-high school.
Our K-8 robotics team also competed today in the FIRST Lego League Championship. The K-8 robotics team competed in the FIRST Lego League Challenge State Championship Tournaments in 2021, 2022, 2023, and this year in 2024. Emi Hagiwara started the team at the lower campus with the help of teacher Connor Lawhorn. Coach Emi then began teaching at the High School. This year’s coaches are Technology Teacher Matt Momohara, Middle School Second Teacher, and After-School Care Staff Member Hunter Dias, who K-8 Coordinator Shanna Thompson supports.
Team Waffles started in 2018 at Assets School at the High School. Their achievements include winning numerous trophies and awards in the past six years, including the Connect Awards, Innovate Awards, Dean’s List Awards, and now the Inspire Award.
As a 7th year robotics team, Team Waffles now actively competes in all FIRST Robotics platforms, including FIRST Lego League (FLL), FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).
Above: Our K-8 robotics Team Waffles competed in the FIRST Lego League Championship on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. They have competed yearly in the state championships since its inception in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.