Robotics Club Wraps up Year

Several members of the Robotics Club gathered in the media center recently for one of their final meetings of the year as they celebrated connection, team effort, and alliance. Senior  Delaney Koehler is captain of Raid X2, one of the competition teams and the club’s head marketer. She has made a lasting impact on the club and how they incorporate teamwork and hands-on skills in the club.

Unfortunately, the club did not win any competitions this year, but they placed 2nd alliance overall at one of the competitions and at the qualifiers they ranked 3 out of 21 teams before elimination matches. “We rank 11 out of 41 total NE Edge League teams for this season, gaining a respectable high score of 176 points,” Koehler said. 

The Robotics Club not only includes various aspects of the entire engineering field, but also other areas of interest that allure many people from outside of the STEM field. Within the STEM field, members build, code, 3-D model/print, and interact with the engineering process (including designing & redesigning). Beyond this, some of the members can also be exposed to digital design, fundraising/financing, and advertising, offering an extensive and comprehensive experience for all of the members. As for function, all members can choose what area they want to do, as many or as few as they desire. “We have one qualifying competition in February, which determines whether we move on to states, but before that, we have multiple competitions that are aimed at improving our rankings, strengthening relationships with other teams, and working out the kinks in our design. The basic breakdown is that we participate in 5 out of 25 matches where we have randomly assigned partners and go against two other randomized opponents to complete that season's task.”

On the field, each team contributes four members. First, two drivers, (Junior Nawfal Benali and Junior Daniel Ruthman) who control the robot with XBox/PlayStation controllers.  Then there is the coach, Delaney, who acts as a second pair of eyes keeping track of points, the time, and possible scoring opportunities. Finally, there is one person who is responsible for either assembling scoring elements or placing stored elements into the arena, which is Junior Syed Wasti. 

Delaney Koehler joined the Robotics Club her sophomore year and has learned many crucial things for her major, aerospace engineering. “Like many members of the club, I was in Mr. Campbell’s Robotic Engineering class first, having signed up because I was interested in the engineering field. But what really made me join the club was Mr. Campbell’s enthusiastic and constant insistence for me to join,” she said. Many of the members participate in at least two areas, and all members are involved in the fundraising and outreach events. Usually, whatever needs to be done is assigned to a given member and people occasionally go outside of their “assigned” role. For example, if the lead builders need more hands to help building, they will recruit the younger members to help them. Additionally, a lot of the newer members will be placed in the “freshman” jobs, which included keeping the room organized, creating posters, and packing the competition containers.

“It's no secret that STEM fields tend to lack girls, and it was clear Mr. Campbell wanted to change that. Besides my interest in engineering and robotics, it was Mr. Campbell’s clear passion for the team and its future that solidified my interest. As soon as I stepped into the first meeting early my sophomore year, I immediately could tell the team built lasting friendships that went well beyond the 1h 30 min after school practices. From the beginning, I knew this space was something so unique and rewarding that I had to join,” she said. 

Club Co-advisor Erin Battaglia helps guide the students with building the robots and learning the challenges in the competition. “I like going to the competitions the most. I like seeing the kids work together to come to a common goal and try to score the most points,” she said. She said that being club advisor comes with a lot of struggles but she’s “always up for the challenge."

Delaney can vouch that “the team's main struggle, as it has been for all my three years in the club, has been teamwork and communication. It might seem trivial from the outside but six months’ worth of work comes down to a few matches at our big competition in February. This leads to a very high energy and tense atmosphere in the months leading up to the final competition,” she said. 

No matter how hard the struggle with communication or teamwork may be, it is crucial for the students to be involved in building the machines and robots together to get ready for the competitions they hold annually. Co-advisors Battaglia and Campbell are always finding new and exciting ways to involve all the students, especially in a male dominated club. Delaney Koehler is a prime example of that.