One University of Wisconsin-Platteville student is volunteering his time while raising money for UW-Platteville’s Robotics Club.
Junior Scott McDermott, a Platteville native, has worked part-time at John Deere in a student position since 2021 while pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. McDermott works on John Deere’s electrification team, which essentially takes traditionally diesel-powered hydraulically-driven machines and works on electrifying them, switching the propulsion system to electric motors.
This past year, McDermott has donated $3,000 to the UW-Platteville’s Robotics Club through John Deere’s employee giving program, Dollars for Doers. The program allows employees to earn a cash reward for each hour they volunteer, which they then donate to a cause of their choice.
“The reason I chose the Robotics Club was because of how heavily involved I am in it,” said McDermott, who was president of the club last year and currently serves as the secretary and treasurer.
McDermott volunteers on Platteville’s F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 171, The Cheese Curd Herd. FRC is a high school-level competition in which local high schoolers are mentored by college students on campus.
“I participated in the FRC competition all through high school and wanted to help support the program that helped me get to where I am today,” said McDermott.
FRC is a part of UW-Platteville’s Robotics Club, which also consists of two other teams that compete in VEXU – Team WISCO, which won the world championship last spring, and Pioneer Robotics, the new “rookie” team for new members to compete in VEXU. VEXU is the collegiate division of the VEX Robotics Competition.
Many employers offer similar programs to encourage employees to give of their time and talents. Check with your HR office to learn more about ways to support UW-Platteville through your employer, and visit www.uwplatt.edu/give.