To be completely honest, this is an insanely bittersweet post for me to write.
It's difficult to call 2019-20 a proper school year, and the anticlimactic end that was the result of COVID-19 has my mind running with the "what-ifs". However, as I pass the torch of MXR leadership to the younger members, I could not be more proud.
In the past few years, I have watched as the annual freshmen (the eldest now rising seniors) grew from childish teens that recklessly fooled around with each other, into mature and thoughtful leaders. I still remember so clearly the moments we spent with each other 3 years ago, tossing FTC foam cubes across our workshop or precariously balancing game elements (like the Relic) on our heads. A year after, I recall the new freshmen stumbling through our new MXR teams and divisions, doing everything we could with the resources we had.
Today is nearly 4 years from the day I walked into the Milpitas Xtreme Robotics far-too-small "lab" for the first time, and it is the day I put down all that I have worked on since then. While doing so, I am beyond proud to introduce the leaders that will carry MXR into the future!
CORE OFFICERS
President: Kalino Ruiz
Vice Presidents: Edward Mai, Nicholas Azpeitia
Secretary: Aishah Jaffery
Treasurer: Dia Agrawal
MAIN LEADS
Build Lead: Eugene Ng, Wilson Liao
Code Lead: Chenghao Li, Kathan Sheth
Fundraising Lead: S'ven Morley
TEAM LEADS
FTC: Tianran (Ben) Bao, Wilson Liao
VEX X: Eugene Ng
VEX Y: Ria Agrawal
Combat: Kalino Ruiz
eBike: Wilson Liao
Hackathon Committee: Chenghao Li, Kathan Sheth, Ved Joshi
CAD: Nicholas Azpeitia
Drone: S'ven Morley, Matthew Song
Middle School Liasion: Ashley Pandya
Kalino is one of the most stubborn people I have ever met, with the most stone-set morals. It is those two traits that have continuously led him to admirably chase what he believes is right in all that he does. Kalino leads both firmly and thoughtfully, capable of putting his foot down but also immensely caring of those that he serves as a leader. He brings people together through laughter and teamwork, creating this warm, comfortable, and welcoming environment for the entire club.
I have really gotten to know Edward in the past year, and during that year he has proven time and time again how capable of a leader he is. Focused and dedicated, Edward keeps us all from derailing conversations and wasting time (the way we tend to). Although obstacles arise, Edward has always picked not only himself up, but also those around him, encouraging everyone to find the path forward. Edward endlessly works to be the best version of himself and is always willing to spend time picking up skills that help strengthen our club.
Nick (aka Alex) is our charismatic Nick-Army leader that reminds us all that MXR is just as much about the chaos and fun as it is about the robotics. My earliest memory of him is one I will not forget soon: Nick had been a part of Team 3 in our first Intra-club Competition, building a pancake-flipping robot with such power that I expected either the robot arm or field elements to break. Outside of the playful demeanor, whenever an issue needed to be tackled, Nick has also always been one of the first to step forward. His energy is infectious, often spurring our club into action. Nick is one that makes his voice heard to better the community around him.
MXR's organizational goddess Aishah took the club and our lab by storm, first helping reorganize our lab beautifully, and now helping clean up the club's organization in the way it has needed for the past decade. Aishah's kindness and care for both our club and the younger students had her picking up the huge responsibility of leading our VEX GirlPowered STEM Workshop in November of 2019, and simply running with it. Even under much time pressure and with little help, Aishah made the workshop a success, impacting all of those that attended.
I first met Dia and Ria when they were the co-leads of the all-girls VEX team Fuzzybots (now our VEX Y team). The two had built that team from the ground up with nothing, which already speaks volumes about their characters. The way Dia did everything she could to raise the needed funds for Fuzzybots—from selling snacks at school to endlessly promoting their donation page—left me in awe. I knew even then that Dia had the rare drive to push as hard as she had to to make dreams a reality. Her sister Ria achieves the difficult and immensely inspiring feat of putting 110% into life, working hard to improve and strengthen her blossoming team all while balancing many other heavy commitments.
Since their freshman year, the whole club has known that one day Wilson and Ben would lead our FTC team together. I can still hear Aniket, our old FTC Programming Lead, loudly praise Ben over an incredibly clever omniwheel programming solution barely weeks after Ben had joined MXR in 2017. Wilson has also grown in leaps and bounds, working with our past Build Lead for years doing everything from bringing the FTC bot to life, keeping the electrical bike from lighting on fire, and soldering the first drones in MXR. In these 3 years, I've been honored to see Wilson grow into a leader from the quiet freshman he was.
Eugene, Chenghao, Kathan, Rakesh, and Ved have not stopped astonishing me over and over in the 2 short years I have known them, in the best way possible. As freshmen, Eugene and Chenghao had worked endlessly over the VEX robot, spending hours on hours learning new information and bringing our new team to a competition even after only 3 weeks worth of build time. They and the others are committed to seeing results from their work, pushing the boundaries of what we thought was possible for our club. This year, the five of them had been simply invaluable members of the VEX X team, the team that won our first MXR trophy in over a decade, brought MXR to State Championships, and even earned a spot in 2021 VEX World Championships. These five are to thank for the upcoming Milpitas representation at one of two biggest high school robotics competitions in the world: what else could you ask for?
S'ven is the epitome of the passion that I have always hoped our club could help nurture. His adoration with all things aviation inspires everyone around him and his hard work lays the groundwork for him and Matthew to push their team forward at unbelievable speeds, building and flying not one but two drones in the team's first year. Furthermore, S'ven's willingness to learn and try new things led him to step up as Fundraising Lead in the face of many inevitable challenges.
Well known around school, Matthew leaves an amazing impression on everyone he works with through his eagerness to help out and tendency to go above and beyond in all of his work. His proactive personality and enthusiasm for new experiences shines through to everyone around him, and his contagious smile spreads in every meeting.
Even before I met her in person, I knew Ashley as a playful and meme-loving club member breathing life into our Discord server. Since then, she has become so much more: Ashley is a considerate to those in her community, open-minded to ideas that deeply matter to others, and supportive outside of just club matters. Her encouragement and jokes remind us all to have fun and live a little more, and her always-offered help has done so much to keep this club running.
A year or two ago, I had been terrified to leave our club, anxious to think about whose hands we would be leaving it in. Today, I may be sad, but there is not a single hint of that same terror left. When looking at these new leaders and the members around them, I cannot imagine better or more capable hands to hold MXR. To all of you in MXR—officers and members alike—I am so proud of you, and I am excited to see all the incredible growth you will bring to the club!
I love you guys.
Written by Chloe W. (2018-20 Prez)
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