By Natalie ’24
Before I came to Harvard-Westlake, I had absolutely no experience in robotics. I could not code, didn’t know the first thing about screws, and could barely piece together legos. I’m not sure what drove me to join robotics, but I decided to sign up on a whim. Before I knew it, I was on a team and we were gearing up for our first competition.
As school was online, we unfortunately didn’t have access to the robotics lab on campus or in-person instruction from our teacher. However, HW provided us with our own kit and materials so that we could start building on our own and our teacher, Mr. Reed, helped us virtually whenever he could. Our first robot, whom we named Sparky, was, simply put, a mess. We built it using a manual from the VEX website, but unfortunately whoever organized those instructions could not count. We ran out of some of our materials halfway through, had to improvise for parts of the robot, and ended up with a clunky pile of metal, but it ran! It could move around and pick up balls to score in the hoops, a feat we barely considered possible during the beginning of the year.
With our second robot, whom we fittingly and jokingly named Temperamental for its refusal to follow code or function properly, the learning curve was a lot steeper and the building time a lot longer. We designed and built the robot ourselves, relying on Youtube videos and our teacher’s advice to churn out a slightly clunky, but ultimately functional piece of metal. For four completely inexperienced amateur engineers, Temperamental was a huge improvement from Sparky.
All of those challenges were not for nothing; they led me to make some great friends. From our first awkward zoom meeting to our last competition, we have seen each other sleep-deprived, starving, and frustrated, but most importantly we’ve seen each other improve and grow. Because the team sizes are so small (3-5 people), robotics is a great place to meet people and make friends.
Now, halfway through the year, robotics is no longer some mysterious activity. Robotics at HW is an amazing experience, and I would recommend it to anyone despite their experience level. Whether your goal is to just complete a robot or win at Worlds, HW will provide you with the materials necessary to achieve it.
