IgKnighters Mission Statement

The McQuaid IgKnighters are a FIRST robotics team led by students who are "Men and Women for Others." We give our team members a positive, real-world learning experience and ignite a passion for STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Since 2009, we've been committed to providing students with a real-life STEM experience, building teamwork skills and promoting outreach in our school and community.

The Methods to our Madness

Iterative engineering design principles, problem based learning, and tight deadlines provide our team-members with up to 4 years of invaluable experience and knowledge as they go on to pursue a career in STEM after high school. Students are mentored on high-level design, engineering, programming, and manufacturing processes utilizing tools that are actively being used in industry and manufacturing today. Working closely with mentors who are active in their field and community allows students to learn real-world skills not readily available to them in the traditional classroom setting.

Our team is not just about building robots; it's about building a community where students and mentors work together to learn and grow. We emphasize creating an environment where students take ownership of their projects, learning hands-on skills and problem-solving techniques that extend beyond the classroom. We are proud to encourage a student-driven approach, ensuring that our members take the lead in design, construction, and competition strategies. Mentors offer guidance, but the students are at the forefront of innovation and decision-making.

Profile of our Students

Our students are leaders in the academic classroom, on the sports field, in the workplace, and in their community, in addition to the robotics team. Our team is based in a private Catholic all-boys Jesuit High School which allows members from the community when they attend a school that does not offer a robotics team within their own home district. 75% of the team members are McQuaid students and 25% of the team are from the greater community. This year, our team is 15% Seniors, 22% Juniors, 40% Sophomores and 23% Freshmen. This distribution of students has created an opportunity allowing the veteran members of the team to gain valuable experience as leaders and mentors.

 IgKnighters History

In 2009, the team was created by a McQuaid Teacher, Mr. John Maxwell, parents Ed and Leo Rivera and two students. At the regional competition that year, they met Ralph Hudak, a mentor for FRC Team 1126, the Webster SparX. Together, they quickly expanded the McQuaid Jesuit robotics team from just two students up to eighteen.  When the team began, there was limited knowledge of how to create a successful FRC robotics program and limited resources. Despite this, the team won both the Highest Rookie Seed and the Inspiration Awards in 2010. Building on that success, the McQuaid IgKnighters qualified at the St. Louis World Championships two years later and placed third in the "Galileo" division. As a result of the team's passion for robotics, every year since 2010 we have won various awards and served as ambassadors for FIRST.  In 2025, the team qualified to compete at Worlds and advanced to become finalists in the Daly Division!