User:Siri

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I was a student on Team 1640 from 2007 (Rack 'n Roll) until I graduated from Downingtown East in 2009. I continue to mentor the team, commuting 7 hours from Penn State Main every weekend during the 2011 build and competition seasons. Slightly alarmingly, I logged just under 400 hours, 3,000 miles, and $550 in transportation in 6 weeks. (I've been told this makes me insane. I find this to be a rather belated realization, not the least because that's easily less than a third of the time--albeit, many more miles--I spent in '08 or '09.) After 2 years as a mentor, I'm now at around 1,800 hours and $3000 having driven the distance between Philadelphia and Manila and back (as the crow flies--17,000 miles).

Years as a Student

I was the captain-manager of FRC Team 1640 for the 2008 (Overdrive) and 2009 (Lunacy) seasons, until I handed off the position to Carly McKown before graduating from Downingtown High School East Campus in June of 2009. I took the position after Head Mentor Emeritus and Team Founder Paul Sabatino went on medical sabbatical. In that time, I served as the team's representative and student liaison, chief media-creator (now a separate department), paperwork-doer, question-answerer, scheduler and organizer, finance officer (also separate department now), etc. I was also the first student member of the Steering Committee and Design Team in my capacities as captain and lead mechanical student, respectively.

In the 2009 season, I became the first student member of the design team (largely thanks to Clem McKown's mass emails), a position we have begun to expand for other students in the 2010 season. This experience enhanced my ability to serve the team's lead mechanical student and pit crew leader--the latter fortunately mostly obsolete in 2009. (The Annapolis Regional judges also seemed to like that a student possessed that knowledge.)

In the winter of 2008, Clem McKown, Foster Schucker, and I started organizing pre-kickoff classes for many FRC subjects, several of which I taught. I also serve as an occasional VEX mentor and have run the scoring system at our annual Eastern PA VEX Regional as well as taught an Enabling Mentors VEX programming session.

As the team's representative in 2008, I also had the wonderful opportunity to help start a JFLL club at Sugartown Elementary School in the nearby Great Valley School District.


By a series of flukes of attendance, I also became the main robot operator (second driver) in 2007 (which held until I graduated in 2009) and the chief welder in 2009. By deliberate stubbornness, I also joined the pit crew in 2007, learning more and more until eventually leading the crew in the 2008 post-season.

Years as a Mentor

When at DEC, I teach, supervise, and coordinate mechanical design, prototyping, welding, fabrication, and assembly. I also oversee the scouting, Chairman's, and Woodie Flowers teams and help coordinate meetings and projects. During the Finger Lakes Regional, I worked as a pit mentor and occasional coach, and created the design handout and poster files as well as editing the slide show video.

During the competition season (basically all of spring semester), I commute weekly between Downingtown and State College by bus and/or train (roughly 3.5 hours). In 2010, I logged 120 hours on-site (175 total) during build season. In 2011 it was 245 on-site and 400 total pre-ship.

On 2 October 2010, I earned my first FRC volunteer experience at the first annual Big Apple Breakaway! I served as a referee with Mike Rizzo. I've also volunteered at our Eastern Pennsylvania Regional, doing logistics, field control, refereeing and queuing.

Sub-Team Membership

The team has restructured (or perhaps just "structured") several times in my tenure, but I am/was a member of the following sub-teams throughout the years (in order of precedence, notice the evolution):
DEWBOT III Mechanical (Drive and Arm) Team (student)
DEWBOT III Pit Crew (student)
DEWBOT III Drive Team (operator)
DEWBOT III Scouting/Tactical Team (operator)

DEWBOT IV Managerial Team (captain-manager)
DEWBOT IV Mechanical (Drive and Catapult) Team (student co-leader)
DEWBOT IV Pit Crew (student co-leader)
DEWBOT IV Drive Team (operator)
DEWBOT IV Scouting/Tactical Team (operator)

DEWBOT V Steering Committee (captain-manager)
DEWBOT V Design Team (student leader)
DEWBOT V Mechanical (Drive and Manipulation Systems) Team (student leader)
DEWBOT V Pit Crew (student leader)
DEWBOT V Drive Team (operator, occasional off-season coach)
DEWBOT V Scouting/Tactical team (operator, occasional off-season coach)

DEWBOT VI Mechanical Team (mentor)
DEWBOT VI Competition Team (coach, strategy, scouting mentor lead)
DEWBOT VI NEMO Member

DEWBOT VII Mechanical Team (mentor)
DEWBOT VII Design Team (mentor, strategic analysis, arm design)
DEWBOT VII Drive Team (coach, strategy)
DEWBOT VI Scouting Team (mentor lead)
DEWBOT VII Chairman's Team (mentor lead)
DEWBOT VII NEMO Member


Photos

I'll refrain from showing the hundreds (no, really) of photos I've been in during my tenure, but in summary:

Experience

I'm currently at Penn State - University Park, where I'm a Schreyer Honors College Scholar (<2% of all PSU undergraduates) and mechanical engineering major with minors in engineering mechanics, political science, and military studies (AFROTC) and certificates in international engineering and humanitarian engineering & social entrepreneurship. I plan on commissioning into the U.S. Air Force upon graduation as an active engineering officer. I am also a student member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Places I've Been

United States

Illinois - I was born here
Pennsylvania - I live here
Arizona
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Indiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia

International

India
Canada
United Kingdom
Greece
Singapore
Indonesia
Malaysia