My Robotics Journey

A highlight of my junior year has been how I am able to express my passion for engineering through after-school clubs such as engineering club and my favorite, most exciting – robotics club. I enjoy robotics club because of its positive environment and work ethic. Unfortunately, I was unable to try-out for the school robotics team my sophomore year, but Gainesville High School gives plenty of opportunities. Although, throughout my sophomore year, I would take a glance at the work being done in the robotics room on days when I would stay after school for other activities. This put me at an advantage for when I applied for a position on the team my junior year since I knew what qualities were needed and appreciated.

Before I knew it, I was being mentored by the team captain and those around me. For the time being, I have been helping around with whatever’s needed. I have been modifying parts, understanding mechanisms, building the robot, and providing solutions to problems. I have slowly been able to understand this year’s VEX game; High Stakes. If you haven’t already, go read my article on my STEM summer camp at Nova. At first you might think, what does Rocketry have to do with Robotics. Aside from the fact that they both start with the letter R, and so does my name, let me tell you that the mechanics, engineering, and operations are very similar.  

Today I attended my second competition, and it was challenging at every turn of events. Tournaments can sometimes span nearly 12 hours. Luckily, my team and I participated till the end which took a captivating 9 hours of having our robot perform on the field, rebuilding the robot, problem solving, and having fun.