![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
STEM Spotlight: Robotics club conducts week-long summer camp for incoming frosh class
“STEM Spotlight” is an Aquila repeater showcasing STEM clubs and their initiatives.
August 22, 2022
Harker Robotics held their annual introductory summer camp from Aug. 8 to Aug. 12 in Nichols Hall, with club leadership teaching rising ninth graders about the basics of designing and building robots.
The summer camp gave the incoming freshmen the opportunity to learn from a variety of robotics subteams such as design, software, electrical, media and outreach. Freshmen spent each day following two subteams of their choice, attending morning and afternoon lectures led by Harker Robotics directors.
“The goal is for the freshmen to get trained with the machines and software before the year actually starts, because the robotics season itself is a lot more hectic,” Harker Robotics Executive President Emma Biswas (12) said. “Having freshmen come in before then allows them to get ahead and have a bigger impact within our team later on.”
According to Robotics Advisor Martin Baynes, the summer camp allowed newcomers with no prior experience to familiarize themselves with robotics without being overwhelmed. Additionally, newly elected officers were able to step into their roles by creating lesson plans for their respective subteams.
“There’s an awful lot to learn which the freshmen may not have been exposed to previously: for example, running the machines, developing software and producing designs using [computer-aided design (CAD)],” Baynes said. “We’re not presuming any kind of robotics background.”
Operations President Ada Praun-Petrović (12) echoes the sentiment that club members designed their subteam curriculums to be as friendly as possible to freshmen who are new to robotics.
“There is definitely a lot to learn, and most people are still learning well into their sophomore and even junior year,” Ada said. “We’re not simplifying topics per se, but we introduce [freshmen] to the already simple ones.”
For example, the design subteam, led by juniors Ronald Cartee and Brindha Chandran, introduced freshmen to the basics of CAD, coaching them through the design process of several robotic subsystems without giving them the task of designing an entire robot in one week. Similarly, the software subteam taught freshmen how to code driver-controlled components of the robot rather than the more complex autonomous segments.
“I enjoyed the software [subteam] because I really like to code,” Ishan Mysore (9) said. “I really enjoyed learning about what made the robot successful, and it was also great to test the code that we wrote on the robot.”
After Club Fair takes place later this year, Harker Robotics will continue to hold weekly meetings dedicated to training freshmen for tournaments in the upcoming season.
