Since 4th grade, I have competed in FIRST Competitions, an organization that encourages students to develop engineering and programming skills. From 4th grade to 11th grade, I served as the team captain of my robotics team and led us to numerous victories. Below, you can see the accomplishments my team and I have achieved!
FIRST Lego League Explore
Our first and final challenge in this competition was Waste Wise, where we had to develop a model demonstrating a trash, compost, or recycling process. We chose to showcase the composting process. After six months of designing, building, failing, and rebuilding, we presented our innovation at Legoland. Our model featured gear chains, pulley systems, conveyor belts, and more. Throughout this experience, our team learned many key engineering principles. Our model was recognized as the best in the competition, earning us an invitation to the World Championship in Houston to present our design!
FIRST Lego League Challenge
From 5th grade to 7th grade, we participated in the FLL Challenge, where we had to build a robot using LEGO pieces and program it to complete a series of missions. We competed in the following challenges: Animal Allies, Hydro Dynamics, and Into Orbit. This activity helped me learn about different programming styles and the beauty of Python programming. Each year, we qualified for the state tournament and won numerous awards. Our most notable awards were the Connect Award and the Design Award!
FIRST Tech Challenge
From 8th grade to 11th grade, my team competed in FTC. The robot needed to move autonomously for 30 seconds and complete missions. Afterwards, it could be operated manually for 2 minutes via remote control. This challenge involved working with large mechanical parts such as drills, screws, and more. Additionally, it required coding in Java, pushing me to learn about computer vision and machine learning models. Since the robot had to identify randomized objects for scoring points, I gained experience in working with OpenCV and TensorFlow for programming. I also showcased my video game skills as I skillfully maneuvered the robot to complete missions. Over these four years, my team performed exceptionally well, qualifying for the state tournament once and winning the Design and Connect Awards!
OwnABot Academy
OwnABot Academy is one of my pride and joys. Its goal is to teach students all about the basics of building and programming, preparing them for FIRST competitions. I am currently the head of this organization and work with students from multiple afterschool programs, such as Safari Kids and Gurukul Academy. We currently earn over $1000 per month. More importantly, we have built over 10 teams for FIRST competitions and led them to qualify for either the State or World tournaments!