The Carlmont Robotics Club concluded their competition season with pride and high hopes for their future.
The Robotics Team, 199 Deep Blue Robotics, has spent hours upon hours designing, building, and controlling their robot over the course of this school year. When only given six weeks to design and make their robot a reality, it was not a rarity for the team to work both during and after school, as well as through the holidays.
“It’s hard work but it is rewarding for a lot of people,” said David Talcott, Carlmont teacher and faculty advisor for the robotics team.
Though it may have been difficult, their time and effort paid off when they qualified for and competed in both the Silicon Vally and Sacramento Regional competitions.
“When my driver and I would carry our robot onto the field, I would think to myself, ‘I built this robot. This is something I am really proud of and something that I built with all my friends,'” said Makenzi Rauls, the media and project leader for the club.
The Carlmont Robotics team is a third-year team, established in 2015, that is primarily student-run with staff and mentor support and guidance.
According to the Carlmont Robotics Website, “The mission of Deep Blue Robotics is to provide students with the opportunity to explore STEM fields and develop engineering, project management, and community relations skills in an engaging and challenging environment.”
“The robotics program encompasses a lot more than AP physics and computer programming. Its got a little bit of something for everyone,” Talcott said.
Multiple different skills can be expressed by participating in the robotics program. For example, the club also utilizes business, marketing and creative talents in their club activities.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year and didn’t recruit as many people as we wanted to,” Rauls said. “However, I think we still had good planning and organization and had a very successful robot at the competitions.”
Due to a smaller than usual robotics team, there are multiple positions that are open to those of interest. Some of the various jobs open for next semester include social media manager, website leader, apparel manager, outreach coordinator, photographer, newsletter positions, and team spirit leader (mascot).
“I’m really excited for the team’s future and optimistic that they are building something that will make a difference in their life,” Talcott said.
To find more information on the Carlmont Robotics Club, go to carlmontrobotics.org or visit their Instagram account @frcteam199.
