MY PASSIONS
FIRST Tech Challenge
Alumni/Volunteer
North Carolina
I have been involved with FIRST Robotics since 2014. I was first involved as a student, and now I continue as a volunteer in North Carolina. It has been a tremendous part of my life, and it has helped make me who I am today. The lessons I learned continue to assist me everywhere in life.
What is FIRST?
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FIRST Robotics is a youth organization that teaches students lifelong values through STEM-based robot competition. There are four different branches of FIRST, my association being rooted in the FIRST Tech Challenge branch.
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Here is a bit more about the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC):
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FIRST Tech Challenge students learn to think like engineers. Teams design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. Robots are built from a reusable platform, powered by android technology, and can be coded using a variety of levels of Java-based programming.
My Involvement
I began as a student on FTC Team 7300 - Guzzoline Robotics. I was a mechanical student on the team, but I quickly advanced to the position of Team Captain. In this role, I oversaw all parts of the team and the robot from software, hardware, communications, and everything in-between.
During my time in this position, my team advanced to the World Championships two years in a row. We were also the top team in North Carolina. As students graduated and interest waned, the team was disbanded in 2018 after six years of wild success. I was also a finalist for the Dean's List award, the most prestigious and competitive award within FIRST Robotics.
I now volunteer with FIRST North Carolina in numerous positions. Event coordinating and Judging are my favorite positions to be in. I plan on being involved with FIRST for as long as possible.
1965 Ford Mustang
Restoration Project
In 2017 I purchased a 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe to work on with my father. Cars are always something I have been extremely passionate about, and the Ford Mustang has always been at the top of that list. It is as standard as they come, a Coupe sporting the 200ci in-line engine. Not a V8, nor a Fastback, but I love it nonetheless. It has been an extremely humbling journey, to say the least. The amount of time, money, and sweat that I have poured into the vehicle have taught me so much about who I am, and how hard work pays off. I am far from having it finished, but that seems to be the general state of project cars.