The IBEW has always been about more than just wages and benefits. It’s also about supporting the communities where its members live and work.

Anchorage, Alaska, Local 1547 is taking that community commitment to a new level with its support of the Lynx Initiative, a student-run robotics program.

“Local 1547 has been quietly supporting robotics in small ways for years, through mentorship, lending space and connecting students with resources,” said Tanya Black, Local 1547 records manager and Lynx robotics team coach. “But when Unit 101 funded the Lynx Initiative, they did more than write a check. They made it a priority.”

Not only is Local 1547 supporting the students financially, but members are coaching and mentoring, as well.

“We’re planting the seeds for a future workforce, one that already understands the skills, dedication and community spirit the union values.”

_{– Tanya Black, Local 1547 records manager and Lynx robotics team coach}

“For most of us who support this initiative, saying yes to helping these students feels almost automatic. I think it comes from our roots as Alaskans and union members,” said Charles Scantlebury, recorder for the Unit 101 committee. “We give this support with the hope of creating a two-fold outcome: encouraging the growth of a potentially new classification in the electrical trade and training the next generation with skills that make the workplace safer and more efficient through project management.”

The Lynx Initiative came about when three students at Anchorage’s Dimond High School attended a robotics competition in Colorado and saw how the Alaska program wasn’t as competitive as they thought it should be. They returned home and got to work on filling in the gaps in their science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, curriculum. That brought them to Local 1547 with the goal of securing the necessary funding. It went better than anyone was expecting.

“Tanya and the kids made a concise and direct presentation and were eager to answer questions about their robotics team goals, how they hoped to grow the program and their goals for beyond high school,” said Hardy Bryant, Unit 101 chair. “Also, robots are cool.”

While the students’ initial request was just for funding — and not even all the funding they needed — they ended up getting the full amount of seed money needed and access to the skills and mentorship of a number of Local 1547 members.

“They saw the passion, the clarity and the spark in those students’ eyes,” Black said. “That full seed funding was more than money; it told them they could do this. It made the vision tangible.”

What began as a single Dimond robotics team with a vision has grown, in less than two years, into 15 teams working together across Anchorage and racking up a number of awards.

The Lynx students meet regularly with the Unit 101 committee to share progress and get practical tips.

“It’s great to hear updates from the team on how they’re helping more kids have access to new, stimulating and diverse learning,” Bryant said. “It’s a good group of kids. They’re smart, focused and kind of stubborn.”

In addition to Black, Local 1547 business representative JC Casquejo works with the students, mentoring them and showing them proper wiring techniques and how to route cables so they don’t tangle in moving mechanisms. Casquejo also helps by donating parts, 3-D printing items, and using his controls and telecommunications background to provide input and feedback on the robots.

“The students are driven,” Casquejo said. “While they’re driven to compete, the thing that stands out to me is their drive to learn.”

Supporting youth robotics is a natural fit for the IBEW, Casquejo noted.

“Robotics is a growing industry. Multiple skillsets are needed, which has overlap with some of the industries we represent,” Casquejo said. “By supporting these programs, members and locals can identify the students who are likely to become members of our organization.”

Ruby Walden, Local 1547 secretary who also assists on the Unit 101 committee, mentored the Lynx students on refining their engineering portfolio, a document that tells the story of the team’s design process and problem-solving and is presented to a panel of judges.

With Walden’s help through her background in professional writing, Lynx won the THINK Award at the Southcentral Alaska FTC Qualifier, a regional competitive robotics event. The THINK Award is given to the team whose portfolio best reflects the engineering design process and the journey from concept to competition.

“Given my skillset, I was really invested in teaching these kids how to tell their story, and how to do so graciously,” Walden said. “I wanted them to be as confident in themselves as we were proud of them.”

The students not only get financial support and mentoring from Local 1547, they’re also learning about all the electrical trade has to offer, as well as the value of a union.

“Before meeting IBEW mentors, nearly all of our students believed you had to go to college to become an electrician,” Black said. “They were surprised, and excited, to learn about apprenticeships and that these are career paths they can pursue right out of high school. For Local 1547, we’re planting the seeds for a future workforce, one that already understands the skills, dedication and community spirit the union values.”

That community spirit is something that lives at the heart of both the Lynx Initiative and the IBEW, Black said.

“In many ways, the Lynx Initiative is a perfect reflection of what the IBEW stands for: empowering people, lifting each other up and making sure no one is left out of the opportunities that can change a life,” she said.