CASA MESA, US FIRST Robotics Team 2261

Students

Santiago Arredando

  • Senior at Niwot high School
  • What do you enjoy? Sports, Hanging out with friends
  • Hispanic
  • “I joined MESA in 2006 and participated in the all the competition. The whole experience was new and exciting. When we first started it was a little overwhelming. Then we had the robot built and things weren’t as hard. I decided to be on the team this year again. I have experience from past years and hope to be a huge help with this year’s competition. I plan to pursue Master’s in the Mechanic Engineering or Electrical field when I am older. Being a part of this team has shown me hard work and dedication. FRC is going to help me get a better future career and I will carry much knowledge from it.”

Esteban Gonzalez

  • Junior at Niwot high school
  • What do you enjoy? Skateboarding, welding
  • Hispanic
  • “Hi, my name is Esteban Gonzalez and I joined the CASA MESA robotics team in the middle of the second build season and this is my 3rd year with the team. What caught my eye is the programming of the robot. Programming is like a big maze, if you make a wrong turn you are stuck. I think about programming this way so that I can have fun when I working on the robot. I am learning a lot about programming and I hope to carry that knowledge to my future career. I want to be a video game programmer.”

Nishtha Oberai

  • Senior at Niwot high school
  • What do you enjoy? Listening to music, dancing, hanging out with friends.
  • Asian
  • “I joined MESA in 2008 and its my second year this year. I love to work with robots, but more with creating the website. FRC has given me a chance to grow as an individual and helped me decide my career and goals. It has taught me the value of being a group member and a student. It has given me dedication and self confidence.”

Kathryn Wicklund

  • Junior at Niwot high school
  • What do you enjoy? Drawing, Writing, Backstage/technical theater
  • Caucasian
  • “I joined the CASA MESA robotics team because I wanted to have fun, and I thought it would help me improve my math and science skills. This is my 3rd year in the team. I am interested in technology and I wanted to see how a robot works. I now know all-to-well how a robot works, and believe me it is a mess. I’m kidding of course, but this is one serious challenge. Luckily, I have had lots of fun and have been able to work with really nice mentors. Our mentors range from college students to professional engineers so I always have a fun time with our build days. I am super excited for the competition, and I hope to see you there.”

Tory Geier

  • Junior at Niwot high school
  • What do you enjoy? Skateboarding, Football, Hanging out with friends
  • Caucasian
  • “I joined MESA last year. This is my second year with the team. Its really fun to be in robotics and overcome a new challenge everyday. MESA has helped me decide my future and helped me grow as a person and gain confidence. FRC has shown me that when great minds get togther, we can come up with anything and make anthing possible. It has been a great experience working with the team. See you all at the competition.”

Pedro Rascon

  • Freshmen at Niwot High
  • What do you like to do? I like to go to the mall, and go to the movies
  • Hispanic
  • “This is my first year in the FRC. I joined this club because i like to build robots and I like to work as a team. I enjoy coming up with new ideas for the robot design and I enjoy building the parts of the robot.FRC has affected in a positive way for me, it has helped me understand math and science better and thorough. In future, I plan to go to acting school in college because I like to work with creativity.”

Tania Gonzalez

  • Junior at Niwot High
  • What do you like to do? I like to go out with my friends and play volleyball during the summer.
  • Hispanic
  • “This is my first time as a student for FRC/MESA. I joined mainly because I want to learn new things. I am interested to learn the website and how it works. I also joined to have fun and work with people. FRC has changed my views on education in a way that it has given me the opportunity to go to college. The mentors here have helped me with my homework and other school related things. In future, I plan on finishing high school and going to college to become a fashion designer.”

Juan Leon C.

  • Sophmore at Niwot High
  • What do you like to do? I like to work on auto mechanics and build the parts of the robot. I like to play soccer.
  • Hispanic
  • “This is my first year as a student for FRC/MESA. I decided to join FRC because i like to construct and build. Its a great opportunity for me to learn more. i enjoy putting parts together to build. i like to work with the mentors. FRC has affected me because it has given me the opportunity to learn more and help me understand thing better. I plan on finishing high school and take courses in auto mechanics. I would like to have my own auto mechanic business.”