2018 Boot Camp
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By Elizabeth Fernandes ’20 and Ella Hedman ’21
The Janksters recently hosted their 6th annual Robotics Boot Camp at Notre Dame High School, where 24 incoming freshmen were introduced to some of the basic skills the team uses on a regular basis. Over the course of this four-day camp that was organized and led by veteran robotics students, campers participated in a wide variety of workshops and activities. They gained exposure to the various aspects of robotics as well as met students from all grade levels with similar interests.
The students went through a series of beginner level workshops centered around marketing, Arduino, tool use, robot driving, CAD, and a Rube Goldberg challenge. Students learned about our branding, how to code and wire an LED light bulb, use several of our power tools and drive three of the team’s previous robots. Additionally, they learned to CAD and 3D print a personalized keychain using Solidworks and created a Rube Goldberg machine to raise a flag. These workshops showed campers how to work in a team, communicate, and work under a time crunch. Sneha Sadaphule ’22 reflected “My experience at the Notre Dame Robotics Boot Camp empowered me both intellectually and socially as a student. The camp gave me a very unique and fun hands-on learning experience that no other robotics camp provided me.”
In addition to the skills students gained from attending these workshops, they had the opportunity to develop new friendships. Social activities including a scavenger hunt, icebreakers, completing a 1,000 piece puzzle, and walking downtown together for lunch provided students with the opportunity to get to know other people in their grade as well as veteran team members.
Teaching Boot Camp workshops also gave veterans the opportunity to improve their leadership skills. Ella Hedman ‘21 said, “Leading Boot Camp this year has allowed me to grow as a leader and further my technical skills. As a sophomore, Boot Camp had been my first exposure to leadership in robotics, enabling me to learn the skills needed to be a leader as well as plan events.”
Overall, Boot Camp helped both incoming students and current team members develop important collaboration and leadership skills. Campers left with a more complete understanding of robotics and many of them are excited about joining our team this upcoming season.