Team Mentors

For students to fully learn and improve on the team, mentors are required to provide guidance and direction. Our mentors have extensive knowledge in various STEM fields and have gained skills from working at prestigious companies.

Mike Ulinski

First Game: Rack N Roll 2007
Mentor Role: Co-Lead Mentor
Inspirations to become a mentor: Dean Kamen’s keynote address at the NI Week ’06 conference and providing students opportunities to learn and grow.

Nick Anaya

First Game: Lunacy 2009
Mentor Role: Mechanical and Electrical Design and Pit Crew
Inspiration to become a mentor: “I love the idea of teaching students to build robots and then having them take over the world. Also, being able to see the pride and satisfaction a student has when they get a design of their creation to work. I also love the machines in the lab and cutting metal!”
Why Lindblom: “I truly feel that Lindblom is a spectacular school with incredible students. It is a school where we can redesign who uses and controls technology and the future.”
Background Experience: Undergrad at Rice University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 3 years working on CNC Control systems with Mitsubishi Electric, and 9 Years working with Shure Inc. on Automated Test Systems for wireless microphones.

Jesus Duran

First Game: Recycle Rush 2014
Mentor Role: Software Engineer
Inspiration to become a mentor: “Nick Anaya (mentor) and Mike Ulinksi (mentor) introduced me to the robotics team during my first year of teaching. The team was run out of a tiny room, and they did SO much that I wanted to help out and learn as well. The students were also SO excited that I was hooked! And having design sessions with mentors and students. SO fun and always being humbled by new ideas and paths of thought.”
Background Experience: “I was a professional software engineer and had taught at a few local universities. I had some experience with electronics and had built a few robots for art installations. I have run workshops for other teams and helped out a few teams over email in the last few years.”

Paul Deronne

First Game: Deep Space 2019
Mentor Role: Mechanical, general assists where needed
Inspiration to become a mentor: “I love robotics and the format of the FIRST competition. And Nick is great. Being able to watch a student’s confidence and abilities grow over 4-5 years.”
Why Lindblom: Students have a lot of freedom here.

Keith Van Rhein

First Game: Infinite Recharge 2020
Mentor Role: Beginning Programming, Field Construction, Parent Organization
Inspiration to become a mentor: “I like designing and building things, especially field elements. Robotics is a great way to teach students how to build and design.”
Why Lindblom: Lindblom has dedicated and inquisitive students.
Background Experience: “I taught for 17 years at Kelly High School, 10 years computer science at colleges, and worked as a computer programmer. I started a small VEX team at Kelly before I left.”

Kenneth Clark

First Game: Infinite Recharge 2020
Mentor Role: Field Construction
Inspiration to become a mentor: “My prior participation in Lego Robotics at my daughter’s elementary school and my participation as a coach while teaching at a prior school inspired me to become a mentor when I came to Lindblom. And seeing kids that had never picked up a tool before becoming leaders and teaching other kids to use various tools.”
Background Experience: Mentoring McDade Elementary School Lego Robotics Team 2008-2009. Mentoring Harlan High School First Robotics Team 2010-2015

Kori Bowns-Kamphuis

First Game: Breakaway 2010 & Crescendo 2023 (On 1781)
Mentor Role: Awards & a bit of everything else
Inspiration to become a mentor: “I am a FIRST alumna (of FRC Team 2903, the NeoBots) and want to give back as much to FIRST as I’ve gotten out of it.”
Why Lindblom: “When I came home from my interview for a physics teaching position, I said, ‘I just had the best day of teaching in my life.’ Being at Lindblom makes me want to be the best teacher and mentor I can be.”
Favorite Mentor Experience: FIRST can be life-changing, and it’s great to be able to help more students be a part of it.
Previous Mentored Teams: FRC 4551 (2013-2015), FRC 101 (2016-2018), FTC 3758, 10240, 10481, 12902, 12904, 12905, & 12906

Matthew Houghteling

First Game: Deep Space 2019
Inspiration to become a mentor: Students tackling complex design and implementation inspired me to assist students tackling complex design and implementation problems. And seeing students get excited when the robot achieves its intended goal.
Background Experience: “I have been a mentor of a student IT team and a coach of golf students, but never anything of the level of FIRST Robotics.”

Hector Aranda

First Game: Charged Up 2023
Mentor Role: Drive Team, Mechanical, Field, & general assists where needed
Inspiration to become a mentor: “I had lots of enjoyment on the team throughout my high school career and wanted to continue to grow and further the team even after graduating”
Background Experience: “I have a military background along with being on team 1781 since my freshman year of high school, and also have my mechanic shop while attending the University of Illinois Chicago Full-Time”