I thought I was a student... by Tucker

I thought I was a student... by Tucker - January 2026 Scholarship Essay

His face shone with delight as his newly-built robot sped around the arena, knocking aside the block in its path with ease! To protect his identity, I will call him Emmet. I had been working with Emmet for weeks over the summer to construct his very own battlebot, in preparation to join in battling with the rest of the robotics team.
The most difficult part of building these robots is figuring out where to start, where to look, what to focus on. My robotics coach and I set Emmet up with all the hardware he would need. This left us with another vast hurdle: how do you go from an idea, to an actual robot? Walking him step by step through the CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) software Fusion 360, I watched a digital model of his idea come to life. We were good enough buddies that we could laugh it off when I accidentally exploded the capacitor on a motor controller...
As time went on, and everybody's robots progressed, I started to realize one of the reasons I spent so much time working with Emmet: I was enjoying it more than even building one for myself! Time and time again, I found opportunities to sit down with a member of my robotics team and guide them through some process, whether it be programming or soldering or whatnot. I never saw myself as the kind of person who would enjoy teaching, but I can’t deny the satisfaction to go help somebody reach the things I enjoy so much. I'm certain these things will really help them once I graduate the team, unable to help. I believe that these experiences have cultivated my ability to articulate ideas, knowing how to explain to others what I have in my head.