A raucous discussion saturates the air as ideas and designs fly around the room like cows from a tornado. This isn’t the Agora, however. It’s the robotics lab on a Tuesday afternoon. A collection of Sixth Formers, Third Formers, and every Form in between tinker and talk about how to make their world-class robots even better.
Here, a small, tight-knit community is quietly flourishing.
In the basement of Wilson Hall, underneath the ELC, lies the robotics lab, which, for the past decade has been sneakily crafting intricate robots and long-lasting connections.
With few opportunities for upperclassmen to meet and talk to underclassmen, the robotics lab creates a unique environment where friendships form across generational divides, maintaining one of the nation’s most competitive programs.
“Absolutely, there’s a very strong sense of community in robotics,” Robotics coach Mr. Will Leech said. “It’s definitely an important part of the school’s wider program.”
Overnight trips to tournaments in West Virginia and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts have provided an invaluable part of the program’s growth and community-building over the past few years.
“Ups and downs of sleeping in the same room is you…have to spend a lot of time together,” Fourth Former Andrew Witmer said. “You get connected to people.”
Despite the setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic, the experience and expertise of veteran Sixth and Fifth Formers continues to pass from generation to generation.
“I have lessons that I have learned from the seniors who were here when I was a sophomore…that I’m passing down every single day to underclassmen,” Fifth Former Milan Varma said.
For the robotics program, the flow of knowledge is key to its success in both competition and community-building.
“Sometimes [the underclassmen] listen to the seniors and [veterans] more than they would listen to us as coaches,” Mr. Leech said. “[There’s] definitely a lot of student leadership in that space.”
““I have lessons that I have learned from the seniors who were here when I was a sophomore…that I’m passing down every single day to underclassmen.”
Milan Varma ’25
For the veterans in the lab, passing on their knowledge is secondary to the connections and relationships they form with underclassmen.
“I don’t really interact with sophomores or freshmen that often,” Sixth Former Michael Wylie said. “I talk often with [underclassmen] I’ve met through robotics, though.”
The Sixth Form never had the opportunity to engage in many of the community-building activities that have united prior years. Since upperclassmen interact so little with underclassmen during the school day, robotics is one of the few places on campus where students from all grades can come together to make new connections and competition-dominating robots as well.
“Only my team is concretely qualified for states,” Wylie said, “but there will be more.”
Most recently, Wylie’s team 169A swept through the state tournament to secure a spot in the world championship in Dallas next month.
While Wylie and his team prepare for the tournament in Dallas, those who did not qualify for worlds will begin to take apart this year’s robots and get ready for a brand new game next season.
