Building high-functioning robots, once a science-fiction fantasy, has become a reality, a hobby and a bright career path for the student members of Messalonskee High School's robotics club.
Take club co-captains Sabine Fontaine, 17, and McKenzie Brunelle, 16, who led their team over 37 others to a school-first regional win in a robot sporting competition Saturday.
Brunelle used to want to be a psychologist, because she wanted to help people, she said. During a trip to MaineGeneral Medical Center's Thayer campus sponsored by the robotics club, she said, she saw a robot perform a hysterectomy. The experience made her realize she could use her hobby to help people in another way.
"Engineering pays a lot more, a lot faster," she said. "And you can help just as much...
