Our Mentors

Mr. Powell has been a mentor for the North Kingstown High School FTC Teams since the program's inception in 2007. He is the District STEM Coordinator for the North Kingstown School Department. He teaches Physics and Engineering Courses at NKHS.

Ms. Shields does robotics. She has been teaching science, robotics and special education courses at NKHS for 10 years, picking up skills in coloring, astronomy, and laser cutting.

Tom is a 2019 graduate of North Kingstown High School, where he spent two years in our FTC program. Starting as a programmer, and later becoming Team Leader of Team 9219, Tom also spent time helping to enhance communication and collaboration between the multiple NORTH Robotics FTC Teams, and also worked to revamp and enhance the program's digital presence and advertising. Additionally, he served as the Event Director for our annual Holiday Battle Scrimmage in 2017 and 2018, increasing attendance to over 24 Teams in 2018.

Tom currently works for New England FIRST, facilitating outreach and delivery of grant funding provided by the Rhode Island Governor's Workforce Board to prospective FIRST Teams in urban areas of Rhode Island.

Kazen is a 2020 graduate of North Kingstown High School, where he spent four years in our FTC program on Team 701. Kazen was a programmer for 701, coding the robots for which 701 qualified for the 2019 & 2020 FIRST Championships in Detroit, Michigan. Kazen graduated in 2024 from Brown University with a degree in Computer Science.