Madeline Bjonskaas, team captain of DNA Robotics, was selected as a Dean’s List Finalist during the FIRST Upper Midwest virtual awards ceremony Thursday evening. This award is a great honor that recognizes Madeline as a student leader who has led her FIRST robotics team and community to increased awareness for FIRST and its mission while achieving personal expertise and accomplishment. In a typical year, this award would earn her a trip to the World Robotics Championship.  In this year of COVID, unfortunately the World Championship will not be held, but Madeline will still have the opportunity to vie for the FIRST Dean’s List Winner award that would normally be decided at the World Competition.

Throughout her years in robotics, Madeline has gone above and beyond what a FIRST member is expected to go. Undaunted by the fact over half the team graduated last year, Madeline provided steady leadership in the midst of a pandemic. Over the past summer the team couldn’t meet in-person, so she poured over 50 hours into making sure our team was able to function online. Madeline set up zoom sessions to hold our team meetings, and found creative ways to still provide team building in the virtual environment, hosting online games like Among Us for the team to bond over. Madeline was truly the glue that held the team together this year.