What Robotics Has Taught Me

Students from DSHA and Marquette University High School (MUHS) form the Hilltoppers Robotics Team 1732. Each year, we build a robot to play a specific game, such as throwing a frisbee into slots or placing milk crates on scales. It takes as much dedication and time commitment as a varsity sport — we’re in the build room at MUHS from 6:30 p.m. to sometimes 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and all day Saturday. We tinker, solder, drill, cut things with saws, program, design, sometimes blow things up, and work together to build an incredible machine that honestly amazes me at the end of the season.

 

I didn’t know how to do any of this as an incoming freshman. In the fall of 2017, I decided to take an incredible leap of faith –I decided to join Team 1732. This was a huge step for me — a shy, awkward, slightly nerdy freshman who had discovered her passion for science and working with her hands. I had been interested in engineering and building for a few years, but I had imagined myself tinkering alone in my basement.

 

If I’m being honest, the first six months of my experience were terrifying. The team is largely made up of boys, and being one of only several girls was intimidating. I knew absolutely nothing about building, mechanics, physics or engineering, other than that it seemed fun, and the rest of the guys in my “rookie” group seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Nevertheless, despite my fear of speaking up—or what seemed worse, being wrong—I continued to show up week after week, determined to learn something new and say one more thing every meeting.

 

The building season went by, during which I mainly followed and observed the seniors, trying to be useful whenever I could. During competition season, I started to make friends and find my place on the team. When the summer season came, I stepped up my game: I went to as many meetings as I could, tried new things, and applied to be one of the leads of the Electrical subteam. Fast forward two years, and I am still one of the leads of the subteam and loving every second of it.

 

Team 1732 has the reputation for making it to this huge competition we call Worlds, where robotics teams come from all around the world to compete. Qualifying for Worlds is a huge deal—it means you have a robot good enough to compete on an international scale. Every year since the founding of Team 1732 in 2006, the team has qualified for Worlds, except in 2018 and 2019. To qualify, the team has to be on a winning alliance at a regional competition, meaning our robot must beat out 45 other robots and come out victorious in a best-of-three match. Teams can also qualify by receiving the Chairman’s Award, that recognizes your team’s outstanding service and passion for STEM. Only one of 50 teams wins this award in competition.

 

When we found out we qualified this year, our team was absolutely ecstatic. Our months of hard work and late nights paid off, and we were returning to the big stage. People were crying and screaming, and it felt like our football team had just won the national championship.

 

But the end of the 2019-2020 season was taken from us due to COVID-19. Our team was completely devastated. We didn’t get to use our robot, which we spent six hard weeks building and over five months planning, to do what we love most. And although I was heartbroken and I don’t know if we’ll make it to Worlds next year, I do know that the experiences I have had are enough.

 

I have loved getting to work with my hands, learn about engineering, and become familiar with different electronic components and concepts. I can tell you how to wire a Power Distribution Panel, how to pressurize and operate a pneumatics piston, or hook you up with some LED lights.

 

But the thing I have grown to love most about being on the robotics team is the people. It’s not a team to me anymore; it’s a family. We’re each other’s best friends. My robotics friends have become my siblings and the only people that understand my weird, nerdy humor. The boys that used to intimidate me became my friends.

 

There are also numerous mentors who have been influential in my life. They’ve taught me what it means to be a good leader, and how to listen and be patient. Every person has a place and an important role to play on the team, and I know how passionate and committed each of them are to the robot and to Team 1732.

 

Joining robotics has been the best choice I have ever made. It has given me friends, experience, skills, and a passion for STEM that I know I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It’s given me the stepping stones I needed to branch out, gain self-confidence, and pursue STEM in my years after high school.

 

I still have one more year with my robotics family. And I’m determined to make the most of it.