CRAZY ABOUT ROBOTICS

PC Robotics Team prepares to battle the competition

I sat down with four young men from the Robotics Class to talk about robots, Ohio, and their future. Lucca and Saul, both sophomores, and T.J. and Isai, both freshmen, are thriving in the STEM program. The Robotics Class is divided into groups, which are each given a project. Lucca and Saul were originally working on a maze robot but had to move to the combat robot project due to some unresolved complications in coding. T.J. and Isai are also working on a combat robot. Both groups are designing, creating, collaborating, and testing their combat robots for an upcoming competition in Ohio.

At the competition, combat “bots” go head-to-head in an enclosed arena; the goal is to destroy the opposing robot. I asked the students why they believed their robot would dominate in the arena. T.J. and Isai believe their bot has the speed and strength to destroy the competition. Lucca and Saul pointed to the unique rotating drum that can flip their opponent upside-down in the ring.

They were all asked why they spend their time and energy building robots, and each had similar answers: They love to build, learn new things, and discover innovative ways to fix problems. Mr. Milgrim identified these four as leaders in the class. When asked why they were identified as leaders, Lucca shared that he takes responsibility for his group and considers everyone’s ideas before moving forward. Isai thinks that he does a good job directing other students.

Looking to their future, Lucca and Isai would both like to become electrical engineers, Saul plans to study automotive engineering, and T.J. wants to pursue some type of engineering path. They agreed that the experience in Robotics and STEM will no doubt prepare them for their future careers. The experience is so tangible and requires them to work together to solve problems. Despite Lucca and Sauls’ problems with their previous coding project, Lucca said they are still determined to figure it out.

Their goal for the Robotics competition? “First place, of course!” The team has already received donations to help cover the trip expenses. They have plenty of dreams to help take STEM to the next level at Phoenix Christian! They need more space to collaborate and create, more tools for each individual group to use, and additional materials like motors, controllers, ECUs, and electrical supplies.

Isai’s final thought: “Robotics is awesome!”

— by Lisa Blake