About Our Mentors:

Rodger Dohm: Head Mentor

Rodger has been involved with FIRST robotics for 9 years. He is a teacher at Poway high school and currently teaches 3D Animation, Architecture and Engineering classes. He is also on the Ramona Unified School District school board. Rodger Dohm even founded Poway High’s robotics team. Mr. Dohm assists with contacting sponsors, finances, on the advisory board, works with policy and legalities.

Todd Parr: Head Mentor

Todd has been involved with FIRST robotics for 5 years and joined our team in 2007. He currently teaches Graphic arts and Ceramics at Poway High School. Todd Parr became part of the team after he covered for Mr. Dohm at a regional event and liked it so much he decided to stay with the team permanently. Todd Parr works as an advisor, organizes events, media and graphics mentor and manages the VEX teams.

Rob Colatutto: Head Engineering mentor

Rob has been involved with FIRST robotics as a mentor for 8 years, 3 of which have been dedicated to our team. He works as an engineer for our sponsor Teradata and he has become a great help to our engineers working on the design and build process. During Competition season he also serves as the driving coach.

Dan Glenn: Engineering mentor

Mr. Glenn has been with Team Spyder for 2 years and with First Robotics for 4 years. He said he was a mentor because "I want to encourage the studies of science and engineering in high school students. He also said his favorite part about mentoring was "Just passing along experience to the students so they get a taste of what real life engineering knowledge is.

Stephen Witte: Programming/Cyberpatriot Mentor.

This is Mr. Witte's first year as a mentor. He said that he is a mentor "because my son is on the team, and i would like to give back to the community by helping these kids learn to program and learn to build robots." he also stated "my favorite part is getting everyone on task and seeing what they can achieve."

John Cambell: Engineering Mentor

Mr. Campbell joined as a mentor this year to communicate his own experience as an engineer to the students on the team. He primarily works with spacecraft and rocket engines and satellites and joined the team because of his daughter who is also on the team.

Damon Van Dam: Electrical Mentor

Russell Wolfkiel: Media Mentor

Mr. Wolfkiel has worked as a Navy Photographer for 16 years and now has joined the team along with his son, William. He's a great asset to photographers on the team as well as the graphics team as a whole

Sharon Crawford: Mentor Coordinator

3 years with Team Spyder. She stated that she mentors "because I'd like to see the students grow and develop as they go through high school." She also said her favorite part of mentoring was "Seeing the excitement and absolute joy students get when they see their work and what it achieved during the competitions."

Roster

Rodger Dohm Head Mentor	Rob Colatutto Head Engineering Mentor	Todd Parr Head Mentor
John Cambell Engineering Mentor	Damon Van Dam Electrical Mentor	Stephen Witte Programming Mentor
	Sharon Crawford Mentor Coordinator

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Parents Can Help Too!

 

The Team Spyder parents are our most important supporters, and we welcome any additional help you would like to give!

 

How parents can help:

1. Transportation: because attending events is considered a school-sponsored activity, students are not allowed to drive fellow students to or from team events. We can always use drivers, especially anyone with a car big enough for the robot!

2. Food: whether it's helping to supply lunch for one Saturday, supplying some non perishable snacks, or bringing treats to enjoy during a meeting. Food is always welcome. Email Barbara Clark if you'd like to help with a team lunch.

3. Become a mentor  

4. Attend our events: our three main events this year are the San Diego Regional, the Silicon Valley Regional, and the FIRST Championship in St. Louis. Anyone is encouraged to attend these free events. Keep these things in mind:

• Please wear closed-toe shoes to all competitions
• We love to see Spyders in the stands, wear a team t-shirt, polo, or sweater if you have one! (If you don't, you can always buy one from the team.)
• If you would like to attend the Silicon Valley Regional with our team, you can receive a discounted hotel rate. Email Barbara Clark for more information.
• Watch our Team Calendar for more events and fund raisers in the future!
• Check out our Wish List!