Two 麻豆精品alumni are celebrating the world championship victory of the high school robotics team where they serve as coaches. Zach McKeever and Mike McKee are coaches for the in Lafayette, Indiana. They were also Engineering Technology Education majors at Purdue who have been supportive of Purdue since graduating.
McKeever is a 2014 Purdue graduate, and McKee graduated in 2016. Both say they have grown in appreciation for the program and have seen how dedicated students are to learning.
“Not only have their efforts have led to this tremendous achievement with their students, but Zach and Mike have been pivotal partners on several sponsored projects in collaboration with Purdue over the years,” said Greg Strimel, an assistant department head and associate professor for Technology Leadership & Innovation.
Strimel says McKeever and McKee have supported the National Science Foundation project, which stands for Teachers and Researchers Advancing Integrated Lessons in STEM. The two alumni are also teacher fellows for the Department of Defense-supported project to integrate microelectronics into schools and reach students much earlier to maximize their potential.
FIRST Robotics Competition
McCutcheon’s Maverick Robotics team collaborated with others from Washington and California to win the 2025 FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship in April. Students in the competition designed, programmed and built industrial-sized robots. The robots then as part of a three-team alliance.
McCutcheon a “nail-biting final round,” which led to a tie-breaking match against two teams from California and one from Israel, the 2024 world champion. The win comes at the end of the season after months of extracurricular work where students met in the school’s tech wing to use industry-standard equipment, tools, computers and software, a robotics lab and more.
McKeever said the team uses CAD to design the parts, then the materials are laser-cut or cut out of prefab tubing, integrated, cut on a CNC, assembled, wired and programmed. They complete extensive testing to ensure the robotics are ready for all scenarios on the field.
“What we do would not be possible without the support of our mentors, sponsors and the community. We have so many mentors—several are either Purdue students or alumni that help teach our students complex engineering concepts and help them work through problems as we design and build our robots,” McKee said.
Each FIRST Robotics Competition team creates a team identity, raises funds to meet its goals and works to advance appreciation for STEM in its community alongside its adult mentors. McCutcheon first qualified for the world championship competition in 2017.
“Without significant financial contributions from sponsors and grants, we would not be able to sustain our program. We are so grateful for all of the support we have received over the years,” McKee said. “We are just one of four teams in the Lafayette area, and we have all worked together and supported each other over the years. This is a big win for everyone!”
McKee said funding is vital to sustaining the program at McCutcheon. This year, funding was supplied by Caterpillar, Negley Flinn Charitable Foundation, Indiana Department of Education, Maverick Robotics Alumni Network, Tipmont REMC: Operation Round Up and sponsors and donors to the team’s GoFundMe campaign.
is a global nonprofit organization that prepares young people through STEM education with youth robotics programs that build skills, confidence and resilience.
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