Everett, Wash.
Published: Monday, April 20, 2009

Super Kid: Scott Evensen, 18, senior at Marysville Arts & Technology High School

 Building Pengbot: Scott Evensen is the captain of the Pengbot robotics team at Marysville Arts & Technology High School. The team built a four-wheel-drive remote control robot that sucks up tennis balls.

In March, the team was ranked fourth in the final rounds of the FIRST Robotics Competition and finished in second place. Competitors had to build their robots in six weeks to meet a list of specifications.

Evensen estimates that he spent about 200 hours after school working on the robot. "I like all the technical stuff that goes with it -- all the programming and electrical and physics that go with it. It's very cool."

Connecting Legos: Evensen mentored two robotics teams at 10th Street School, a middle school on the same campus as Marysville Arts & Tech. The teams competed in the FIRST Lego League competition.

Strumming strings: Evensen plays bass guitar during services at Marysville United Methodist Church, where he worships.

Creating computers: In his free time, Evensen builds computers. He's built two and is working on his third. He's a member of his school's Local Area Network club, where students play video games and tinker with computers.

His favorite video games are "Call of Duty 4," an online military game, and "Mass Effect," which pits freedom fighters against threatening armies.

Technically speaking: After he graduates in June, Evensen plans to attend ITT Technical Institute in Everett or Lake Washington Technical College, which has campuses in Kirkland and Redmond.

He wants to become either an electrical engineer or a computer network systems manager. "I've always been interested in technology. It's a path I know I've been going on. ... The doors just keep opening for me and I'm like, 'Yes!' I can finally do what I want to do."

Lab prep: Evensen's two favorite classes of all time are shop and chemistry. He's currently taking current world issues, English, a class to boost his math skills and shop. He's also a lab technician for science classes.

Saving grades: Evensen began attending Marysville Arts & Technology High as a sophomore. He had a rough start, and finished his first semester with a 0.95 grade point average, he says. As he sunk into classes and developed relationships with his teachers, his grades improved.

Evensen now has a deal with his dad that he can't drive if he earns a C. He says Marysville Arts & Technology High School saved him academically. "It wasn't Marysville-Pilchuck. MP is just huge and I didn't want to go to a big school with 3,000 students. It was just not appealing. I love A&T. It's amazing. I don't think I would have graduated high school if I went to MP."

Little twins: Evensen lives with his parents and his 16-year-old brother and sister, twins. He also has two dogs -- Baby, a pit bull, and Sophie, a mix between a Labrador and a pit bull. He takes offense to the stereotypes of pit bulls as mean, aggressive dogs. "They are members of our family. You open the door and they're ready for love."

Katrina relief: The farthest Evensen has traveled is Mississippi, where he went on a mission trip with his church to help victims of Hurricane Katrina clean their yards and homes.

Looking down: At 6 feet 7 inches tall, Evensen stands out in a crowd. He doesn't mind the attention or telling strangers that, yes, he plays basketball -- but just for fun.

Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.



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© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA