One of the fundamental principles of FIRST Robotics is that the students benefit from their interaction with mentors from their industries. Texas Torque is fortunate to have mentors willing to give so much of their valuable time and expertise to support the team. They help guide the students through an educational journey and are critical to the team’s success. The members of Texas Torque greatly thank our mentors and appreciate all they have done for the team. Listed below are brief bios for all of the mentors who have helped to support Texas Torque throughout the years.
Mr. Rip is the lead mentor of Team 1477 and has mentored Texas Torque since 2007. He spent 30 years in the classroom teaching physics and robotics to high school students. After his retirement, Mr. Rip became the District Robotics Instructional Coach for Conroe ISD and now fully commits his time cultivating the growth of robotics in our area. During his time on Texas Torque, he has molded the team into the powerhouse of engineering and learning that it is today. He also personally impacts every student he encounters. Because of his character and dedication, Mr. Rip challenges students to develop themselves as mature individuals and the leaders of tomorrow.
Ms. Bauer is the other lead mentor for Texas Torque and coordinates all the planning that goes into travel and the paperwork required by the school district. She is also the Geometry and Dual-Credit PreCalculus teacher for the Academy of Science and Technology at College Park High School.
Mr. Dunbar is one of our essential parent mentors who has helped a lot of our students in the mechanical sub-team. With his knowledge of several machines and power tools used in the lab, he provides lots of tips and information to help members reach their highest potential. Mr. Dunbar joined this team in 2019.
Mr. Welch is an Outreach mentor for Texas Torque. Outside of the team, he is a teacher for special education students. Despite having only been on the team since 2021, he has been a very helpful person for the team by maintaining an inclusive environment for everyone to learn.
Mr. Moses has been a technical and safety mentor since the 2021-2022 season. He is currently a university student majoring in computer science with an emphasis in cybersecurity. When Mr. Moses was enrolled in high school, he was a dedicated member of his school’s FRC team, 467 Shrewsbury Robotics.
Former Mentors
Ms. Dunbar graduated in the Class of 2022 and was our 2021-2022 business lead. She served the team as a mentor for the next two seasons in all aspects of the business subteam with her extensive experience in handling the team’s outreach, safety, and FLL operations.
Mr. Lubecki was a mentor for the programming subteam and works as a software engineer for Amazon. Despite not being able to frequently come to our lab as a result of having to relocate for employment, Mr. Lubecki had been committed to developing the efficiency of our robot and our team’s programmers.
Mrs. LaRue was a Chairman’s mentor for Texas Torque and is currently a biology teacher at The Woodlands College Park High School. Since she joined the Texas Torque during the 2019-2020 season, Mrs. LaRue had been very helpful in managing the business subteam with her organized and strategic structure.
Mr. Davies is a former business mentor for Texas Torque. As a physics teacher from The Woodlands High School, he inspires many of his students to pursue STEM and finance. Through his thorough management of our team’s finances, Mr. Davies was responsible for all of the unnoticed tasks that kept our team running since he joined in 2008.
Mrs. Humes was a physics teacher at The Academy of Science and Technology, a STEM-based magnet high school program based out of College Park High School. Throughout her years on the team, she has supported students in their academic endeavors, especially in STEM and history-related courses. Mrs. Humes was instrumental in communicating with the students’ parents as well as campus and district administration.
Ms. Schilling is the mother of two Texas Torque Alumni and has been a Chairman’s and Outreach mentor since 2016. Outside of the lab, Ms. Schilling is a passionate healthcare professional. To this day, she remains committed to developing the interpersonal skills of students on the team and increasing the quality of life around the world.
