2 minute read
Team 1280 Faces its Biggest Challenge Yet
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By Shelby Falahat, Junior Reporter
At San Ramon Valley High School, there are several students who have dedicated their high school careers to the Robotics Club and cherished every minute. Commonly known as Team 1280, the Robotics Club has experienced a variety of successful events due to the hard work and determination those students put forth. The club teaches leadership, programming skills, and technical skills valuable to students interested in engineering and the world of STEM.
Team 1280 helps students in more than just academics
From 2016 to 2020 the team experienced a substantial growth, from 8 active members to now 60 and counting. The team consists of approximately 29% Freshmen, 29% Sophomores, 13% Juniors, and 29% Seniors. Though the team is entirely run by students, they have a successful competitive history, including two Regional Championships and several rankings in the top five within the same competitions.
In addition, for the last sixteen years, they have competed in the First Robotics Competition (FRC), a STEM program in which teams spend just over two months designing and building a competitive robot. Throughout the team’s FRC career, they have won awards including, the Rookie Inspiration Award, the Radio Shack Innovation in Control Award twice, the Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award twice, the Imagery Award four times, and the Engineering Excellence Award. As a result of FRC, students gain many valuable technical and software skills, such as: machining, coding, and executive leadership. However, over the years, the team has encountered adversity.
Working as a team is one of the high lights of the Robotics Club
Three seasons ago, they unexpectedly switched from a schoolsponsored class to an after-school club, considerably downsizing budgets, and, most recently, they lost another head mentor of the team. As a result, the Robotics Club is experiencing deficits in their annual income. The team captain, Kanishk Gupta, stated that “the team is a challenge due to the $20,000 gap between the club’s current competition budget and the $40,000 required to cover materials and travel expenses.” While losing a club mentor last year, $12,000 of grant scholarships that the team has relied on during competition season was no longer available. The team is solely financed through sponsorships, and community support is greatly appreciated. The SRVHS Webstore has more information. “All donations have a significant impact on helping SRV Robotics students and mean a great deal to us,” notes the Administration Leader, Radhika Gawde.
Nevertheless, Team 1280 aspires to transform into a sustainable, student-led, self-reliant team to ensure longevity for future generations.
Shelby Falahat is a Senior at San Ramon Valley High School. She loves writing as a tool to express herself as well as learn about the world around her. She also has a passion for working with children. Recently, Shelby has had the opportunity to work at Kumon, which has allowed her to teach young students math and reading. In addition, she loves to travel with her family across the globe.
