Bradley to host robot competition for high school students
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Bradley University is going to host a regional high school robotics competition featuring 35 teams, with nine from the area.
The FIRST Robotics Central Illinois Regional Competition will take place from March 21-22 in the Renaissance Coliseum and will have teams representing Peoria, Dunlap, Bloomington, Tremont, Metamora and Washington.
'The environment has the feel of both a major sporting event and a rock concert, complete with special lighting, upbeat music, crazy costumes, a large video wall and energetic emcees/announcers,' according to the university.
The event is a showcase for high schoolers to team up and be paired with engineering and science mentors. They have six-and-a-half weeks to build a robot to conquer an engineering issue.
The robot will be then shown off at the competition on Bradley's campus.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Wire
27-05-2025
- Business Wire
Cello and Lightspeed Announce the Winners of the GTM10 Awards — Honoring the World's Best GTM Leader in Software
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cello and Lightspeed Venture Partners today proudly unveiled the 50 winners of the GTM10 Awards 2025, the first global program recognizing the best Go-To-Market (GTM) leaders across Marketing, Sales, Growth, Customer Success, and Partnerships in software. The winners were selected by an esteemed jury of GTM legends, including Kyle Poyar (Growth Unhinged and Operating Partner, Tremont), Mark Roberge (Founding CRO, HubSpot), and Heidrun Luyt (CGO, Qonto) - each bringing decades of experience in scaling high-growth software companies. 'The best GTM leaders today aren't just delivering results—they're building repeatable, scalable frameworks that others follow,' said Kyle Poyar, GTM10 jury member and operating partner at Tremont. 'This cohort represents the future of our craft.' Share After reviewing 806 nominations from 24 countries, the jury selected a diverse cohort of leaders redefining what it means to bring technology to market in 2025. Explore the full list of winners: The Five Functions Driving Modern GTM Each category had its competitive dynamics, with Marketing being the most contested. Below are some standout winners from all categories: Marketing: Ren Lee (SVP Marketing, Dataiku) transformed Dataiku's GTM strategy through demand generation-focused programs, from a high-converting Exec Connect series for senior leaders to a revamped webinar engine to engage business and builder personas alike. Her KPI-driven approach to pipeline and intent enablement set a new standard for enterprise marketing in the competitive AI space. Sales: Nick Feeney (VP Revenue, Loom) transformed Loom's enterprise motion by implementing a lean, AI-enabled sales model and a data-driven outbound engine. His focus on simplicity, automation, and high-talent density drove significant ARR growth and established a repeatable, scalable GTM framework. Growth: Alexander Berger (Chief of Staff, led a high-stakes company pivot, transforming StackBlitz into an AI-powered website builder that reached $20M ARR in just two months. His first-principles approach to GTM and unique 'Influencer Board of Advisors' concept helped scale the product into a category leader in the AI tools space, setting a new standard for capital-efficient growth in SaaS. Customer Success: Cait Keohane (Chief Customer Officer, Airtable), led a customer journey redesign to tackle experience fragmentation amid rapid growth. Anchored in data-driven feedback loops, her approach led to significant improvements in retention and satisfaction, raising the bar for scalable, customer-centric success in SaaS. Partnerships: Alexis Zhu (Head of Global Partnerships, Stripe) transformed how Stripe partners with major payment providers by launching a new distribution model that doubled merchant adoption. Her scalable framework, leveraging strategic alliances and cross-functional 'Tiger Teams,' is now a playbook for partnership-led growth in fintech. 'The best GTM leaders today aren't just delivering results—they're building repeatable, scalable frameworks that others follow,' said Kyle Poyar, GTM10 jury member and operating partner at Tremont. 'This cohort represents the future of our craft.' The Shared GTM Challenges of 2025 Across all categories, this year's nominees consistently tackled a shared set of challenges: Scaling with Constraints: Many operated with limited resources, yet delivered exceptional pipeline and revenue growth. Breaking Through Noise: Honorees redefined GTM storytelling to stand out in saturated markets. Driving Efficiency at Scale: From PLG to AI-driven enablement, leaders implemented systems that multiplied impact without bloated headcount. Orchestrating Global Expansion: Several winners unlocked new markets while maintaining operational precision and cultural relevance. Integrating AI and Automation: Nearly all winners innovated with AI, reimagining onboarding, lead scoring, and customer engagement in real-time. 'Being recognized by peers and industry leaders for the work my incredible team at Gusto delivered is truly an honor,' said Jason Ing, GTM10 award winner and CMO at (formerly CMO at Gusto). 'We started with a clear vision of what we wanted our customers to understand and feel — and we're proud of how powerfully it landed and the impact it had on the business. This award isn't just a milestone — it's a reflection of the high standards, creativity, and relentless effort required to win in today's GTM landscape.' The Selection Process Winners were chosen by a panel of world-class judges, including GTM veterans from HubSpot, Shopify, Asana, and Databricks, alongside investors from Sequoia, a16z, Balderton, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Judges assessed candidates based on: Impact – tangible revenue growth or strategic outcomes Innovation – breakthroughs in motion, channel, or structure Visibility – community contribution and industry leadership Recognition and What Comes Next Winners received: Nasdaq Times Square recognition Featured profiles across industry media and Exclusive membership in the GTM10 Leaders Circle – a prestigious community of top Go-To-Market professional, including invitations to regular invite-only events happening globally About Cello Cello is the all-in-one referral platform that helps SaaS companies launch user and partner referral programs with no-code simplicity. Trusted by category leaders like Miro, Typeform, and VEED, Cello is redefining how viral growth scales in SaaS. Lightspeed Venture Partners is a global venture capital firm with $30B in AUM. It backs category-defining companies in enterprise, consumer, and fintech, such as Snap, Anthropic, and Rubrik.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Yahoo
Bradley University open house showcases student innovation projects
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Bradley University is hosting an open house to show off student capstone projects aiming to help solve real-world problems for a third year in a row. Students at Bradley's Foster College of Business and Caterpillar College of Engineering have teamed up with community and industrial partners to 'solve complex problems through real-world and multidisciplinary Capstone Projects,' said university spokesperson Libby Derry. The open house is from 8:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. on April 25 in the Business and Engineering Convergence Center, located at 1500 W. Main St. Bradley is inviting people to come see some of these innovative projects, which include the following: Caterpillar Gamification of Safety: Through innovative problem-solving, students designed a safety initiative aimed at reducing workplace accidents in manufacturing facilities worldwide – addressing not only aspects of safety, but that of human behavior and culture differences across the globe. RLI Underwriting: By evaluating the structure of insurance quote generation, students provided data-driven recommendations to refine and improve RLI's future data-gathering methodologies. Kuzma Self-Playing Guitar: Assisting Bradley graduate Michael Kuzma, students played a key role in defining a strategic business plan for his groundbreaking robotics product, paving the way for further product visibility and market capture. Caterpillar Sustainable Water Management: Students analyzed potential risk factors and reinforced the reasoning behind a proactive emergency mitigation and response strategy to enhance sustainability efforts within Caterpillar's operations. Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity: Students engaged with the nonprofit's mission to shape the next pre-release phase of a high-impact service initiative, setting the stage for a nationwide rollout. 'These projects not only benefit the students themselves, but also contribute to the broader community by advancing knowledge and solving real-world problems,' said Philip Lockwood, an advisor for the Foster College of Business Convergence teams. 'Our students are providing valuable insights and fresh perspectives, which are highly relevant to the business and engineering communities as a whole.' There will also be a poster presentation of various different projects from different departments from 1:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Yahoo
High schoolers compete in FIRST Robotics Central Illinois Regional
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Hundreds of high school students combined math and metal at the FIRST Robotics Central Illinois Regional Competition for a chance at the World Championships in Houston. 'Every year there's a brand-new game. So they get to come up with a new strategy, a new design, and build a robot from scratch to play the game,' said Tim Koch, chairman of the Central Illinois Regional Planning Committee. In all, 35 teams from all over the United States came to Renaissance Coliseum on the Bradley University campus for the competition which began on Thursday and will wrap up have been preparing for the competition since the beginning of 2025. Teams of three students race against the clock to see how many PVC pipes their robot can place on the post in the center field. Grace Hatten is a senior at Illini Bluffs High School in Glasford. She said she has put her blood, sweat, and tears into making the team's robot. 'I've probably spent over 100 hours at robotics like building some program, doing like everything. So to see it work and we actually get like winning, and having a good robot is the most rewarding,' said Hatten. Koch said he firmly believes these students that are competing, are the future engineers of our country. 'These students are building job skills and life skills. You know, they're learning how to do things in the mechanical, electrical programming space. They're also learning how to talk to judges and explain what they're doing to other people. So they end up with a full skill set for going to college and getting a job in the future,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.