For me, robotics has gone far beyond any other club activity in school, not only because of what it has taught me, but also because of its positive impact on my future. I became attracted to this program when I saw a robotics demo at McKinley's Mini Math Meet while I was in middle school. From then, I decided to join the McKinley robotics team as a freshman in high school. I started off by doing VEX robotics, and through the building/programming process, I found out that robotics was something more than what I initially thought (design structures, electrical wiring, and especially programming). My passion built since then and encouraged me to move on to FIRST robotics. It was a really big step for me. I expanded my knowledge in electrical/programming as well as my communication skills which couldn’t be learned in classes. My enthusiasm continued on for three years. As a fourth-year member, I was surprised to realize just how much I have learned as I began teaching new members this year. Hopefully, I will carry on the knowledge I have obtained in robotics and be able to apply it as I pursue a career in electrical engineering.

The FIRST robotics program has taught me a lot of things and it helps me a lot. I am a third year member on the McKinley robotics team. I immigrated to Hawaii 3 years ago, and I could only speak basic English. I wanted to join robotics to learn English. While I was there, I learned about programming and robot construction. I also learned about teamwork, leadership, and time management. Joining the team has helped to improve my English skills by giving me opportunities to speak with other teams about new designs, ideas, and strategies. I was also able to practice my public speaking at robot demonstrations by explaining robot structures and functions. It has helped me decide on my college major as well. Robotics has positively impacted my life.

I LOVE ROBOTICS!

I joined robotics in my sophomore year. As only my second year of immigrating here at that time, robotics was a great place for me to improve my English skills. Knowing that communication is very important in the team, I tried the best that I could to talk to my teammates and mentors with my shy face. Even though funny pronunciations always came out in my speaking, the others would correct my errors and try their best to understand what I was saying. Participating for three years in this program, I am now better able to express myself and communicate with my teammates.

Other than the improvement in my communications skills, robotics also helped develop my hands-on skills. I found myself interested in electrical things and I joined electrical/programming team. Being the third year on the team, I have now learned how to "talk to the robot" using programming languages such as C+ and LabVIEW and I love the way we solve problems through testing programs.

I can say robotics has brightened my life. It's all about teamwork and engineering. It's a place where I have learned how to accept the "failures" and do the best to lead to "successes." It's a pathway for me to get into an engineering career! =].

I have been on the McKinley Robotics Team for three years. I joined because my friends told me how fun robotics could be while also teaching you a lot about engineering. I have participated in both the VEX and FIRST competitions. Building the robots may take a lot of effort, but it is fun to work with other team members and I feel like the robotics team is my second family. Everyone is friendly, talented, and very cool. I am so lucky to be able to hang out with these people and be on the team because they don’t mind that I am an English as a Second Language student.

When I reflect on the three years I have been on the robotics team, I find that robotics has helped me to improve in different areas, especially in my ability to speak English. I am a timid student and am often afraid to communicate in English with my classmates. Robotics gave me a chance to practice speaking English. Other members have been very patient with me and have explained the meanings of many words to me. Also, since I have joined the robotics team, I have gained self-value and self-confidence. I am glad to be able to help to build robots, even if it is just a small task.

Being on the McKinley Robotics Team has enabled me to gain more knowledge about my future career. It has also been a positive influence in my life. I have learned what teamwork is - how to work as a team and how to communicate with others. The things I have learned in robotics are not things I can learn in class. These are some of the many ways robotics has changed my life.

This is my last year on the McKinley Robotics Team. I joined back when I was a sophomore. My friend, Sam, mentioned how fun robotics was and the things they had learned in the summer training session. I decided to check out the robotics program for myself and I found out that joining the team wasn’t about the robots, it was about learning how to cooperate and work as a team.

When I was in middle school, I did not like to work with others and I did not know how to work well with others. I thought that working with others was useless as they could not read your mind and did not know what you wanted. But when the VEX season began, I noticed that no one was working alone as they helped and supported each other.

I never thought that joining the robotics team would enlighten my mind towards working with others. I regret that I did not join robotics when I was a freshman. Robotics has positively impacted my life. It has helped me to comprehend what I want and to realize my goal after high school. TKM - where miracles happen.