The Allen High School robotics team competed and won state for the second time from Dec. 5, 2024 to Dec. 7, 2024. Despite facing several changes this year, the robotics team persevered and were awarded for their efforts.
“[One way we persevered was that] a lot of us underclassmen had to step up and take those leadership roles and learn new skills,” sophomore and Project Manager Arohi Joshi-Gadre said.
The robotics team faced anxiety when it came to awards but never lost hope.
“They had announced the awards differently than they usually do, so we were feeling really unconfident,” Joshi-Gadre said. “Then when we got the announcement that we won, it was a huge shock, but also really good.”
Joshi-Gadre credits the team’s mentor, Mr. Gadd, for his support leading up to the team’s second consecutive win.
“He’s really set us on a path for success, structure-wise,” Joshi-gadre said. “He’s helped us stay organized, which is really important and helps us.”
Team members feel that being on the robotics team is beneficial for preparing for the future.
“I’ve been doing [robotics] for five years,” said Emily Batlett, sophomore, Drive Coach, and Fabrication Lead. “It’s been really impactful for me because it’s become a part of my life. I really want to do [robotics] in the future and it [has] set me on a path for success.”
Even with the changes to the competition structure, the robotics team has found a way to use the requirements to make their products better.
“I feel like this competition is better than the last due to [us adapting]” junior and Exhibit Lead Joseph Thomas said. “Because last year, our requirements changed and this year, we were able to adapt to these requirements and we added more thought into how we were going to win this year.”
The environment at the competition was exciting for the whole team and was a way for them to encourage one another outside of team meetings.
“[The competition] was really fun and really loud” Bartlett said. “It’s not a place you want to sit down and be quiet at because everybody else is cheering and you just want to cheer.”
The team had a tedious process of preparing their robot and spoken presentation to judges for the competition.
“So we’ll start off with creating our boards (side of the exhibit), having our posters (information) done,” Thomas said. “When we finish this, we continue on to our next part with different power tools.”
The team is now celebrating their win and preparing for their upcoming First Robotics Competition (FRC) season, where they advanced to Worlds last year.
“It’s a lot of people that are there, united for one common goal, and one feeling of celebrating engineering and robotics in one place,” Joshi-gadre said. “And it’s a lot of pride and confidence as well because you are there with your team as a unified front.”
