Mentors
Coach Lisa Savage (’05)
Coach Lisa was a student on the Mech Warriors from 2002 to 2005. She was a mechanical engineer for the medical, space, and defense industries, but recently switched to a role as a systems engineer for the automotive industry. As our lead mentor, she guides us in both technical and non-technical areas. In her free time, she helps FIRST in Michigan to plan their competitions and grow their volunteer base.
Mr. Eric Savage
Eric is a alumnus of another local team, the Gator Bots from Dearborn, on which he was a member from 2004 to 2007. He has served as a mechanical engineer for a variety of products, including jet engines, medical devices, and amusement park rides. Eric is one of our design mentors, helping with conceptualizing, CAD, and fabrication.
Mr. Jerry Kempf
Mr. Kempf was a mechanical engineer at Ford for a number of years before joining the Mech Warriors. His daughter is a Marian Alumna, and his wife is a current member of the Marian High School administration. His dedication is evidenced by his hard work with the team. He also volunteers as a judge for the OCCRA competitions. His legendary math skills are flaunted to team members on a daily basis, whether it be calculating the gravitational pull on the robot, or finding the elusive “X” value.
Mr. Tom Barch (’78)
Mr. Barch has been with the team since almost the beginning, when his oldest son Tom (’04) was on the team. He has stayed with the team through the involvement of his next two sons, Chris (’07) and Steve (’11). He works for Delphi and deals mainly with electronics and programming on the team. He has taught the team the most important rule of electronics: never let the magic smoke out of the electrical components!
Dr. Melissa McBrien
Dr. McBrien (aka Mrs. Landes) brings experience to the team as an NEMO (Non Engineering Mentor). She helps with the award submissions, as well as public relations, and in her free time is the Chief of Otolaryngology (Ear Nose and Throat Surgery) at Beaumont Hospital. Her daughter, Carrie Landes (’12), was team lead in 2012.
Mr. Patrick Mullen (’03)
Pat was originally a Mech Warrior in 2002 and 2003, and he helped start team 1504 while attending Michigan State University. He is a market analyst for GM. Pat is an idea guy with a knack for strategy and scouting. He’ll readily admit he isn’t the most technically inclined, but he has no problem telling you what you want to do. He just won’t tell you how to do it. Oh, and guys, you can blame Pat for the skirts.
Mr. Troy Hawkins (’06)
Troy Hawkins was a Mech Warrior from 2002-06. He graduated from Lawrence Tech and is now and Automated Transmission Analyst at Ford Motor Company. Troy is our chassis expert and also always knows where to find the best food when we are traveling.
Mr. Robert Schwabel
Mr. Schwabel is an engineer at General Motors. His daughter, Laura, was a Mech Warrior from 2008-12 and was head of the appendage section in her senior year. He is our electronics board expert.
Mr. Ben Antinossi
Mr. Antinossi is retired from General Motors. He is a reserve police officer in Dearborn Heights and has a builder’s license. His son Marc was on the team from 2007-11 and was team lead in 2011. Mr. Antinossi helps with all things mechanical, from the appendage on the robot to practice field parts.
Mr. Bryan Girty (’10)
Bryan Girty is a Brother Rice graduate and was a member of the Mech Warriors. He participated in FIRST for 3 years and in OCCRA from 2009-2010. He attended Grand Valley State University, and now works at Game Stop. From time to time, Bryan stops by and helps our Business sub-team with their essays and other projects they are working on. He brings a super cool attitude and energy to our team.
Ms. Kathleen Kondek (’07)
Katie Kondek graduated from Marian and was a member of the Mech Warriors from 2004 – 2007. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2011 and then joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps NW in Montana and Oregon. She completed her master’s at the University of Michigan School of Information and now works as a Corporate Archivist (mostly with GM content). Katie works with the business team when she can. She’s all for taking breaks, but always makes sure we get back on task.