October Projects
The October project was a great way for me to get to know the rookies and to prepare my mind for build season. I was amazed to see the different projectors that each group came up with even when give the same goal. After interacting with the rookies and girls from other committees, I am definitely more excited to see how everyone's unique and creative thoughts will be applied to this years game. This project benefited me as it was a tiny refresher of the process of build season.
Kimberly ZhangClass of 2017
It’s not easy having a million ideas in your head and only one month to take one idea, build it, and make it work. When the team was told that we had three weeks to brainstorm and build something that could shoot a specific ball for a certain number of feet away, I was so excited. I was paired up with two other rookies and two veterans to shoot a ping-pong ball at least 4 feet away, and I immediately thought the idea of a catapult. Our prototype worked pretty well, so the veterans in the group suggested that we should rebuild it out of metal and maybe use a piston. Building the final was quite stressful since we almost ran out of time in learning about angle brackets to connect extrusions. Unfortunately our final presentation and run didn’t work as well as we hoped since the piston was a new concept; however, I’m still glad that I got to work on this project, because I made tons of great memories and friends with the other veterans and rookies. After October, I’m really pumped to learn and work more in the Mechanical Committee. I never would have guessed that robotics would be the thing for me, but now I’m sure.
Shreya BasireddyClass of 2019
I had an amazing time working on the October projects. I’m new to the team and this was my first time. It really helped me adjust to being on the team. At first I was embarrassed that I didn’t understand what the veterans were actually talking about, but after working with them I was able to ask for help understanding things when I needed to. I realized later how important brainstorming is, because the machine would not have worked out as well without all of the planning. When we started prototyping, there were also challenges, such as constant testing, retesting, reforming, and at one point, we changed the method of how we were going to shoot the ball altogether. I feel this really prepared me for build season, because I’ve heard its really stressful and that week is so crucial because thats when most of the work is done.In the end our project turned out so well, and we even finished early.
Naomi DasariClass of 2018