March 18, 2026
Rob Frederick, Mayville State University Chief Information Officer, has been named the Great Northern Region Volunteer of the Year, an award given by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The award was presented at the 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition Great Northern Regional held at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks March 11-14, 2026.
The award was in recognition for the work Frederick has been doing behind the scenes at the Grand Forks event over the years.
In introducing Rob during the awards ceremony, the presenter said, “So many of our volunteers travel hundreds of miles to participate and support our Great Northern Regional Competition. We are very fortunate that for one longtime FIRST volunteer, their journey north has included FIRST Lego League, FIRST, Tech Challenge, and now FIRST Robotics Competition here in Grand Forks. Even though this volunteer could roar like an Iron Lion, this talented volunteer has been the calm and unruffled presence at our scorekeeper’s desk.”
Fredrick was involved as a volunteer at FIRST events in Iowa prior to moving to North Dakota in 2020, when he began lending his support in Grand Forks. He and his wife, Leslie, will both be volunteering at the Granite City Regionals in St. Cloud, Minn.
The Grand Forks competition held in March brought together 51 high school teams from across North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, and beyond for a multi-day celebration of innovation, teamwork and STEM education. Each team competed with a student-designed and student-built industrial-style robot. E event was a qualifying competition for the FIRST Championship and marked one of the major early-season regionals in the Upper Midwest. Locally, Hatton-Northwood has been extremely successful in the FIRST competitions for several years.