![“[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)
Harker Robotics puts in countless hours finalizing their robot for competitions, from refining the physical parts and internal code to coordinating logistics for the 52-student team.
Take a peek into the behind-the-scenes of the team’s preparations for the Capital City Classic taking place from Oct. 25-27.
Tiffany Gu (12): I’m really excited to make a lot of great memories with the team. I think we have a lot of potential coming into this year. This year it’s picking up these orange frisbee discs. Once the robot picks it from its intake, it’s supposed to shoot the frisbees into this really large goal. At the end of the game, there’s this climbing sequence. The robots need to climb on this chain.
Kevin He (10): When the game is revealed, we’re all together as a team at a high school, and we discuss through possible robots that we build and possible subsystems that we might have. After we’ve decided on what subsystems we have, we start master sketching. We basically design the robot on a computer and then we send that design off to Mech-Mach [the Mechanical and Machining subteams]. They’re hands on. They actually build everything.
Brenna Ren (11): During the build season, it starts off in January, and we start with design which is using CAD, which is a computer assisted design to make the robots design.
Tiffany: Our team is divided into Operations and Technical aspects. For the Technical subteams, they’re mostly in the lab. They work on making sure the robot has its final touches in, the software is all ready to go, it’s tuned, and we are making spares in case parts break. On the Operations side, we’re mostly in Dr. Nelson’s room, and we’re working on the logistics of the competition: making sure that everyone has their permission slips in and preparing a slide deck on competition readiness.
Brenna: Our coming competition is an off season competition. It’s Capital City Classic, it’s in Elk Grove. I’m looking forward to going to the competition because it’s always super fun to room with your friends. You see how the robot does, and usually we do pretty well.
Steve Gross: Getting the students excited and motivated and having them put in the time between the competitions is just as important as when they compete at the competition itself.
Additional videography by Charlie Wang.
