#6 Robotics

Trevor Wiermaa

English 1106

04/03/07

Robotics

            During my high school years at Proctor, I took a class called Battlebots IQ.  I gained a lot of skills and knowledge from the class. Some of the skill I gained was engineering, leadership, and public speaking skills. I also learned what I want to do for my career. This class made a huge impact on my life.

            During the two years I was in robotics, I gained a lot of engineering skills. I learned how to weld, mill, lath, wiring, and programming. These skills were critical for the students in the class to have, especially during competitions. During competitions, I gained the skill to think on my feet. This was very important for student to have between matches. After a match, their could be something damaged on the robot and the teams next match might be five to fifteen minutes away only. Whatever was wrong with the robot, it had to be fixed. A lot of times it came down to the wiring. We had to make sure all the connections were secure because during a match our robots were taking a beating or doing the beating. If one wire connection were to fail, our robot would most likely be dead or demobilized.
            In the robotics class, the students were split into three to four teams. I became team leader of my team and I became Vice President of the class because of my knowledge I had for the class. I had to make sure my team mates had a job to do every day during the year. I also had to keep inline everyone else in the class too. All the students would come to me for advice when they had a problem. During this time, I had to make team mates were doing their job also. From doing this, I gained a great level of respect from everyone.

            For robotics class, we had to give a lot of presentations to the school board about the class so we could keep the class going.  The president and I always gave the speeches. We had to look professional and be professional at what we were doing. We had to tell the school board what we have learned and why the class should keep going. Each speech lasted about 1 to 2 hours long. From doing this, I have no problem now getting up in front of a class or any group of people and talking to them.

            I enjoyed everything I did in the class the two years I was in it. That’s when I realized what I want to be doing for my career. I want to become an engineer. It would great if I became a robot engineer for some company in the future. I loved what I was doing and I was good at it.

            The Battlebots IQ class was one of the greatest times of my life so far. I hope to be doing something like that for the rest of my career.