"My sophomore year at Sequim High School I joined the first ever robotics class that was offered at the school. At the time, I just knew I liked robots and had virtually no experience with electronics, programming or engineering. After getting the hang of building small Lego Mindstorms robots, I fell in love with the process of building something and seeing it work. After a semester, my professor came to a few of us in the class with the idea of competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition that was happening that spring. We had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into, but we agreed and met that day after school to start brainstorming. At that time, there were no more than 10 students. After being involved in the robotics program from that time until my senior year, I watched it grow from a small group who had no idea what they were doing to a well managed and an award-winning team. I grew from someone with no mechanical experience to a person who had skills in a woodshop, machine shop and computer programming. Because of robotics, I grew from a very shy person to a leader with absolute confidence in my own skills.
I went into high school knowing I wanted to study and pursue astrophysics as a career. I did the Running Start program while I was heavily involved in robotics and graduated with my AA degree along with my high school diploma in 2013. Currently, I am a junior at Washington State University pursuing my dream of astrophysics. However, robotics did spark a passion in me for engineering – I now plan to go onto graduate school for Aerospace Engineering after I finish my degree in astrophysics.
My experience in the robotics program has opened an endless number of doors for me. In December 2013, I was interviewed for and offered a Technical Assistant position at WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics. I assist researchers and engineers from Argonne National Laboratories, the Dynamic Compression Sector at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories – I’m surrounded by groundbreaking research every day I go into work. The job relies heavily on mechanical experience, and I credit having it completely to robotics. Everything I learned and the experienced gained from my three years in the program gave me skills that truly transferred on into the real world. From the programming to the electronics used on the robot, to the people and leadership skills, I use all of them everyday.
I was very lucky to be apart of the small group that became what the team is today and I’m confident my involvement will continue through mentoring and sharing my experiences with current and future members."
- Ella
I went into high school knowing I wanted to study and pursue astrophysics as a career. I did the Running Start program while I was heavily involved in robotics and graduated with my AA degree along with my high school diploma in 2013. Currently, I am a junior at Washington State University pursuing my dream of astrophysics. However, robotics did spark a passion in me for engineering – I now plan to go onto graduate school for Aerospace Engineering after I finish my degree in astrophysics.
My experience in the robotics program has opened an endless number of doors for me. In December 2013, I was interviewed for and offered a Technical Assistant position at WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics. I assist researchers and engineers from Argonne National Laboratories, the Dynamic Compression Sector at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories – I’m surrounded by groundbreaking research every day I go into work. The job relies heavily on mechanical experience, and I credit having it completely to robotics. Everything I learned and the experienced gained from my three years in the program gave me skills that truly transferred on into the real world. From the programming to the electronics used on the robot, to the people and leadership skills, I use all of them everyday.
I was very lucky to be apart of the small group that became what the team is today and I’m confident my involvement will continue through mentoring and sharing my experiences with current and future members."
- Ella
On the left is the Impact Lab at WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics. One of many labs at the institute, this is where most of the shock experiments are carried out. For information can be found at WSU's Shock Physics website.
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"I joined the Sequim High School robotics club my junior year of high school. Like so many others before me I had virtually no idea what I had gotten myself into. I can thank First Robotics and our team’s mentors for the vast majority of mechanical, electrical, CAD, and programming knowledge I now have. I learned more than I had ever expected to about robotics, but I’ve also gained invaluable leadership and communication skills. The most valuable thing I got out of FRC though was the inspiration to become a professional engineer. I’ve always enjoyed building and modifying things for as long as I can remember, and FRC was what convinced me that I should turn this into my profession.
This summer I am interning at Nikola Engineering, a Sequim business, which specializes in the design and programming of audio amplifiers. Every day I am surprised by the amount of parallels between what a professional engineering company does and what I did at First Robotics. While it is a massive time commitment, FRC is worth every minute you spend working on the robot. My only regret is not participating sooner."
-Dylan
This summer I am interning at Nikola Engineering, a Sequim business, which specializes in the design and programming of audio amplifiers. Every day I am surprised by the amount of parallels between what a professional engineering company does and what I did at First Robotics. While it is a massive time commitment, FRC is worth every minute you spend working on the robot. My only regret is not participating sooner."
-Dylan
“When I look back at the chain of events that have landed me
where I am today, it’s clear that the time I spent as a part of Sequim High's
FIRST Robotics team had an instrumental effect on me. My education, my career,
even my friendships and day to day collaborations trace straight back to the
long days of designing and building robots with my best friends.
I joined the team with a handful of computer skills at most. I had almost zero shop skills, and I was terrified of using most of the equipment you'd find in a garage. At the onset of competition season, I quickly found myself at home drafting and modeling the various ideas and prototypes we all dreamed up. I felt like a real engineer, having to make design decisions about power distribution and wheelbase- shaving every pound of weight possible to make room for more motors and complicated subsystems. Eventually the work became so much that anyone and everyone who could turn a screwdriver was put to work, as the deadlines loomed over us I learned quickly, using a laser engraver to create jigs for polycarbonate, and lacing together the jungle of cabling and electronics it takes to run a 110 lbs aluminum robot. By the first day of competition, we were frayed but we were darn proud of what we made, never-mind the emergency zip ties and duct tape.
I graduated the same year, taking the fresh memories of FIRST with me to college. Eventually I found myself at Bellingham Technical College, enrolled in their Precision Machining program. That same creative fire and satisfaction of making something with your hands carried straight over. I would have never thought that computer-geek me from 11th grade would enjoy milling parts and making sparks as much as I do now.
After getting a machinist certification, I applied at a manufacturing company called Janicki Industries, in Sedro Woolley. Janicki makes a vast array of parts and tooling for organizations such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Oracle Team USA, and has done substantial tooling for the Joint Strike Fighter (F35), Orion spacecraft, and Oracle's America's Cup 35' catamaran. I think I put a dent in my kitchen floor jumping up and down when I got the job...
Two years after Sequim High's FIRST Robotics team taught me power tools won't try to bite me; my job is to operate a warehouse-sized CNC mill to manufacture high-tolerance aerospace parts from an array of alloys and composites. I simply would not be here without FIRST, and I am only one of thousands who owe such gratitude to FIRST.”
-Reid
I joined the team with a handful of computer skills at most. I had almost zero shop skills, and I was terrified of using most of the equipment you'd find in a garage. At the onset of competition season, I quickly found myself at home drafting and modeling the various ideas and prototypes we all dreamed up. I felt like a real engineer, having to make design decisions about power distribution and wheelbase- shaving every pound of weight possible to make room for more motors and complicated subsystems. Eventually the work became so much that anyone and everyone who could turn a screwdriver was put to work, as the deadlines loomed over us I learned quickly, using a laser engraver to create jigs for polycarbonate, and lacing together the jungle of cabling and electronics it takes to run a 110 lbs aluminum robot. By the first day of competition, we were frayed but we were darn proud of what we made, never-mind the emergency zip ties and duct tape.
I graduated the same year, taking the fresh memories of FIRST with me to college. Eventually I found myself at Bellingham Technical College, enrolled in their Precision Machining program. That same creative fire and satisfaction of making something with your hands carried straight over. I would have never thought that computer-geek me from 11th grade would enjoy milling parts and making sparks as much as I do now.
After getting a machinist certification, I applied at a manufacturing company called Janicki Industries, in Sedro Woolley. Janicki makes a vast array of parts and tooling for organizations such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Oracle Team USA, and has done substantial tooling for the Joint Strike Fighter (F35), Orion spacecraft, and Oracle's America's Cup 35' catamaran. I think I put a dent in my kitchen floor jumping up and down when I got the job...
Two years after Sequim High's FIRST Robotics team taught me power tools won't try to bite me; my job is to operate a warehouse-sized CNC mill to manufacture high-tolerance aerospace parts from an array of alloys and composites. I simply would not be here without FIRST, and I am only one of thousands who owe such gratitude to FIRST.”
-Reid