I lead my school's First Tech Challenge (FTC) team, 23650 MillburnX. After a successful season last year under 8405 Millburn Robotics, I was given the opportunity to be a founding member of the new team. Me and my co-captains recognized that we were faced with an incredibly unique opportunity: to build a brand and identity from scratch. We would not be supported nor harmed by the reputation built up by years of alumni. The image associated with the new team would be entirely up to us.

FTC, for those unfamiliar, is a high school robotics competition where teams compete at regional, state, and international levels. In order to advance in the competition, teams can either win the tournament (as part of the winning alliance) or win Inspire (a judging award given holistically to a team that demonstrates proficiency and professionalism both on and off the playing field). We knew that the Inspire award was an important aspect of the competition that we needed to explore. From the summer, and throughout the season, we reached out to industry professionals, companies, and our community. We volunteered at countless outreach events to share our knowledge and foster interest in STEM.

At our recent league meet, we were recognized for our hard work with the Inspire award, a testament to the work we've done and continue to do.