What I do as Build Team Captain
Our team after winning District Championships and advancing to World Championships
Achievements
- 11 awards across 18 events, including 2× Highest Rookie Seed, 2× Rising All-Star, Innovation in Control, Quality Award, and more
- 2× District Event Winner, winning the 2025 District Championship (top 54 teams in Chesapeake) and Bethesda MD event (29-team field)
- 2× FIRST Championship Qualifier, competed at World Championships twice in four years, ranking among the top 600 of 3,700+ teams globally
- Grew team 4× in size, increasing membership from 29 to 123 through recruitment, outreach, and leadership initiatives
Build
- Led the end-to-end mechanical design process, creating 5 prototypes and 3 CAD iterations over a 6-week build season
- Directed fabrication of 50+ custom parts using CNC machining
- Conducted 20+ subsystem and full robot tests, identifying and resolving 4 critical issues before competition
- Implemented troubleshooting protocols that reduced mechanical downtime by 48% between competitions
- Managed assembly workflows for 5 major robot subteams, ensuring integration met all deadlines
Manage
- Supervised 46 mechanical team members throughout the season
- Selected and empowered 5 exceptional students as subteam leaders to delegate tasks efficiently
- Organized 5 weekly meetings over 6 weeks to set agendas and track mechanical progress
- Managed an inventory of 34 tools, ensuring proper maintenance and availability
- Facilitated communication among 4 subteams to prevent bottlenecks and ensure timely robot development
Teach
- Trained 32+ new members on safe tool usage, fabrication techniques, and assembly procedures
- Developed and delivered 8 workshops on CAD design and mechanical assembly best practices
- Mentored 5 subteam leads to build leadership skills and improve team efficiency
- Created 4 instructional videos and documents to support ongoing knowledge transfer and skill retention after graduation
A still from our team's parent night as I ran a student's parent through our robot
Skills Developed
- Mechanical design and fabrication (CAD, prototyping, machining, assembly)
- Team leadership and cross-functional collaboration
- Project management and scheduling under strict deadlines
- Technical mentorship and training program development
- Communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders