Members:

Seniors

1. • Hamid Ali (Captain)
   

2. • John Pernock (Captain)
   

Juniors

1. • Jonathan Leung (Captain)
   

2. • Samir Luthra
   

3. • Marcus Carroll
   

Sophmores

1. • Alex Long
   

2. • Arjun Madhaven
   

3. • Charles Patterson
   

4. • Rafic Melhem
   

5. • Chase Lax
   

6. • José Hirshman
   

7. • Tae-Jin Kim
   

Freshmen

1. • Jacob White
   

2. • Kyle Kane
   

3. • Alex Dillman
   

4. • Chang Han
   

5. • Rameen Vafa
   

6. • Kumar Bhattacharya

The respective members of FIRST Team 1656 finish school and assemble in the dungeon-like science room, which has become one of the Robotics team headquarters. The team sits down with the freshman in the back, progressing to the captains in the front, explaining the goal of the day. This is the daily routine of The Haverford School Robotics Team, a motley group of geeks and nerds from the various fields of computers, engineering, and administration. We have come a long way from our founding three years ago. The group first assembled in the computer lab twenty people of which six actually joined. We stumbled our way through our first year building the infamous “blue box” which performed relatively well for a ‘dump truck’ system in an all arm season. Although we started as a club, meeting only two or three times a week, we soon grew into a full-fledged team, meeting six days a week. It has been a long, albeit somewhat unsuccessful journey, but we have made it through the first three years, learning priceless knowledge along the way.

After a long day of school, robotics is the only form of releasing pent up energy that has been growing throughout the day. The high level of excitement leads to some very interesting meetings. In addition, the team is relatively small, so it is a necessity to have all team members present at all times. The differences in both age and mindsets between members of the group lead to some engaging discussions that sometimes escalate into heated debates. Both competition and collaboration guide the team in accomplishing tasks.

Due to the small size of the team, members are encouraged to work well with one another to reach goals. Barriers of segregation are rare to find, as often times, upper class men will work jointly with underclassmen. Personal differences are put aside as students learn to act as a team. Although they are uncommon, the occasional quarrel will break out, but the remaining members will try to resolve the situation. Through the long hours working on the robot, bonds and friendships form between some of the most unlikely candidates. Although it may be considered cliché, the group of young men comes together as a family.

No team is perfect, and our team is no exception. Poor time management and a sometimes-negative work ethic are just some of the factors that have hindered the team from success in its previous years. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and on more than one occasion a design that had not been thought as much as it should have been leads to a very stressful build period, and dismal success at the regional competition. However, were it not for these mistakes, our team would be woefully inexperienced.

The past three years, the heart and soul of the team has primarily resided in three recently graduated students, who will not be present this year. The team will look to its charter members in the current senior class for leadership and direction. The next few years may be the most productive for the program, as each and every team member will be required to search within and strive even harder for success.