On the 7th, Sequoia High School robotics team wrapped up its season competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), attending four meets and earning the FTC Reach Award, an award given to teams that have demonstrated their ability to promote STEM learning, FTC and robotics.

The FTC is an international robotics competition that challenges teams to design and build robots that can complete a series of tasks, including autonomous movement, scoring points, and completing objectives as per the selected game, which changes season by season. This year, Sequoia’s robotics team spent around five months designing and building mechanisms, testing code, and strategizing in order to prepare their robot for the competition in the official FTC meets.

Last Saturday, Sequoia competed in its fourth and final meet at Westmoor High School, where they finished off the season and earned their award.

“We were top three for basically the whole season, and we were able to keep making improvements to our bot and strategy,” Robotics Team Secretary Nikhil Rasiah said. 

Along with concluding the season, the team was also recognized for outreach, earning the FTC Reach Award, one of the many awards possible to earn from the FTC officials. The awardees given when a team demonstrates exceptional ability and commitment to spreading STEM education and the interest of robotics.

“It’s because of our social media presence and our outreach day at the Youth Center,” Rasiah said. 

Outreach day, which was held on January 27th this year, is one of the several ways that the team has raised awareness for rising students and the community alike. With the season complete, the Sequoia robotics team can now look forward to next season and continue to raise awareness on their program.