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Troy's Story

My name is Troy Weber. Last year in high school, I was in Vanden's Robotics Class/Club, which is how I became involved in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). I was only in this Robotics Class my senior year because the previous three years had been packed with other electives that I falsely deemed more important.

Nevertheless, one year of Robotics was enough to impact all of my future decisions. One of the most exciting moments in that class was when the Inventor Model of our Robot for the 2009 FRC (into which I and a couple other students invested many hours) was selected as one of the top five national entries in the 2009 Inventor Design Competition. The Vex Competition that Vanden hosted in late 2008 and the occasional tastes I received of electrical, programming, and manufacturing work are also among the most valued moments I experienced that year.

Now I reside in the dorms at California Polytechnic State University studying in my second quarter. My major is Civil Engineering, but by the end of my third quarter I should be able to officially switch to Mechanical Engineering, especially if I can maintain my 3.771 Cal Poly GPA. From there, I hope to later go into the field of Mechatronics and pursue a career in Robotics.

I am also involved in the Robotics Club here at Cal Poly. I did not become involved in any projects my first quarter, but this quarter the Club President selected me to be in charge of our newly established CL Smith Robotics Program. Every Tuesday, three Robotics college students and myself team up with an adult mentor and go to CL Smith Elementary, San Luis Obispo, to teach a selected group of 4th-6th graders about Robotics using Lego Mindstorm kits. My hopes for this program are that in future years this CL Smith Program may become involved in FIRST Lego Competitions.

Other than remaining involved in the Cal Poly Robotics Club, I intend to help mentor a high school FRC team next year when I have a car with me. I would also like to attract some of the other Robotics Club members to join me in mentoring local high school teams (such as those in Atascedero or Arroyo Grande), or even in starting one here at San Luis Obispo's high school (if there is not a team already).

Before I was involved in FIRST Robotics, I thought I was going to pursue a career in Civil Engineering, or even Architecture at the least. Now I know I won't be as content in any career as I will be in Robotics. So, if your question is whether or not FIRST has impacted me, I would say, yes. Yes it has. None of the accomplishments I previously mentioned would have occurred as recently as they have if I had not been involved in FIRST for even that one measly year. This is why I intend to be an active supporter of FIRST for the remainder of my life.

Upcoming Events

February 21, 2012

Ship Day! This is the last day we can work on our robot. We have to bag it up at 3 pm ready for Davis.

March 15-17, 2012

Sacramento regional. The RoboVikes 1st competition! Come and support us at the UC Davis Pavillion!

What else are we doing? Check out our Google Calendar.