By Mary O’KEEFE

“Flabbergasted.” That’s how Bruce Wilton described his reaction this weekend when he heard his name being announced as the recipient of the Woody Flowers Award at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Technology) competition in Ventura.

He may have been the only one, though, who was surprised. To his fellow mentors and students, Wilton’s receiving this award is the most natural thing in the world.

The Crescenta Valley High School Falkons 589 robotic team was competing in Ventura this weekend. The students wrote an essay nominating Wilton for the award.

The Woody Flowers Award, “Celebrates effective communication in the art and science of engineering and design,” according to the FIRST website. The award is presented to an adult mentor at each regional competition. All the names of those who have been recognized are then in a pool for the championship award.

For Wilton, who does not crave or even like the limelight, this award is an amazing recognition by those he mentors.

“Bruce Wilton is an outstanding mentor. Not only does he encourage questioning by his students, he also actively shows them how being wrong can be a good thing. He also encourages his students to have confidence in their thinking and listens to their thoughts,” said Santee Santiago, former 589 member. “Bruce also has the heart of a lion, as anyone close to him will tell you. His impact on 589 goes beyond [being] a mentor; he makes the team feel like a family. He ties together the students in a way that can only be done by him. He provides a comforting ear and a warm smile, and a peppy attitude when a student needs it most. His recognition is long overdue and I’m very glad he was presented his award.”

Present Falkon students wrote the nomination essay for the award. The primary author was Rianna Reinhard, according to lead mentor Lyn Repath-Martos, but it took an entire robotic village to add to the final essay. Sanaya Bhadha, Maylin Austin, Kiran Hamkins, Karan Patel and Zerxes Bhadha all added their part for the final version.

“A group of us just started talking about everything [Wilton] does for us,” Sanaya said. “He is just such a good teacher. He won’t tell you something; he will help you figure it out. He won’t give you the answer; he will physically show you how things work. Instead of explaining a concept that’s theoretical he will give you a real life example and let you come to the conclusion on your own. It’s an amazing thing because I have never seen anyone teach that hands-on.”

It is that hands-on philosophy that Wilton brings to the team. He wants kids to work on the robot, to get their hands dirty so to speak, with the actual building of the robot. For the FIRST competition, high school students are given the rules and regulations of a game. With that information, they must build a robot within a six-week period that can play the game. Although some of the students may be familiar with the theory of building something, few have actually built anything from the ground up. Wilton, who owns a design and fabrication company, did not attend college and believes hands-on experience is extremely valuable and something missing in the education system today.

“Our education system doesn’t provide any opportunities to empower kids like it did for me by learning how to do something in shop classes or working on a car,” Wilton said. “We don’t seem to repair things that break anymore; we just throw [that item] away and get another one.”

He has seen students walk into 589 who don’t know how to use a screwdriver and then finds that they have talent in areas like welding.

“Like Jessy [Shelton]; she had no hint she cared about welding,” he said. But she learned that not only did she like it, she was good at it, he added.

“Mr. Wilton is one of the only mentors who I’ve been able to ask what seems like never-ending questions and he explains each one so thoroughly and gives a real-life situation in which this answer can be applied,” Shelton said. “Being a student in robotics it was nice to have him there to not just give you the answers but give you the tools or even a new way of thinking about something to fix the problem.”

Shelton, who graduated from CVHS in 2017, added that she didn’t talk to Wilton just when she had a question but genuinely liked talking to him. To her, that is what a mentor should be – someone you can trust and talk to.

“He’s also a lot of fun to talk to and, being a little sassy myself, it’s comforting to have a mentor who gives it right back to you and can have fun while working” she added. “I couldn’t think of a better candidate for this award.”

Wilton has mentored students who have come from all types of backgrounds but if they showed a real interest, he will continue to mentor long after they have left school.

“To me, Mr. Wilton is one of those people who, when he has something to say, you just stop what you’re doing and listen to the wisdom he has to add to the situation. I remember being on the robotics team and listening to things he had to say, and teach,” said Will Richards, a former Falkon student. “I remember going down to his shop to work on a project I was doing for myself outside of robotics and how grateful I was. It is people like Mr. Wilton who are always willing to help and what I learned from him has motivated me to become a Falkon mentor.”

Richards credits Wilton for inspiring him to join the Falkon mentor team. He hopes he can be as inspirational for others as Wilton was for him.

Repath-Martos is the lead mentor for Falkon 589, and a former Woody Flowers Award recipient. She is very proud of the students for writing such an amazing essay recognizing Wilton and agrees with every sentence they wrote.

“Bruce Wilton brings so much to the students of Falkon robotics: not only his vast knowledge of how things work mechanically and physically, the small intricacies of how parts and pieces function, but also the larger picture of how people work together and how, through teamwork and collaboration, they can achieve so much more. His patience, his humor, and his modest reserve are tremendous assets. He leads by example, always with a wry smile and gentle comment, keeping things in perspective,” said Repath-Martos.

For Wilton, it comes down to each student’s journey of discovery of abilities they had no idea they had.

“It is really empowering,” Wilton said.

  Mary Okeefe