Klamath Falls robotics competitor heading to world championship

Klamath Falls, Ore. – A high school student from Klamath Falls comes out on top in a statewide robotics challenge–and now, he’s headed to an international competition.

Jeremy Sonneman’s fascination with robotics began with a childhood love for Legos. “When I saw the robotics program my sophomore year, I said, ‘I gotta do this!’ This is exactly what I want. Its like Legos for adults, but it’s so much cooler.”

Sonneman recently competed in a robotics competition in Salem.

“Jeremy won the platinum division,” said robotics teacher Laura Nickerson. “So, you could say he’s the best of 70 robots, and all the robots, out of Oregon.”

A Mazama High School senior, Sonneman hasn’t always come out on top.

“I was last place in my first competition,” added Sonneman. “And I saw the worlds, and I was thinking, ‘This is amazing, I’ve got to do it, this is crazy.’ And I obsessed about it ever since.”

Jeremy is now headed for the VEX robotics championships in Kentucky next month.

“It’s coming April 19th,” Sonneman said. “It’s really close.”

“I have not ever taught someone who loves something so much,” Nickerson said. “I had to get special permission for him to stay late at night, because I couldn’t stay as late as he needed to stay.”

Jeremy’s next challenge is to raise money to attend the world competition.

If you’d like to help, here’s a link to his ‘Go Fund Me’ page:  www.gofundme.com/jeremys-trip-to-vex-worlds

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