Dedication Drives Robotics Students
With names like ‘Technical Difficulties’ and ‘Area 52’ robotics teams fully embrace the challenges of using their technological creations to overcome formidable tasks. Ten Marksman recently found success doing so by competing on independent teams in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC).
“FTC events have a unique and exciting atmosphere filled with anticipation, camaraderie and a spirit of competition,” Arav Rawat ’24 said. “Every single team has worked so hard to get to this point and are anxious about how their robot will perform.”
The FTC has teams from grades 7-12 design, build, program and operate their own robots to compete in head-to-head challenges. Participants are also eligible to apply for over $80 million in college scholarships.
“While stressful and chaotic at times, FIRST’s motto is ‘gracious professionalism,’ which means in this context - even in the middle of a stressful and chaotic competition, you still maintain your calm and work through problems logically and professionally,” Vivek Patel ’24 said.
Marksmen competed on five different teams, all of whom qualified for the Texas State Championship. Three of those teams eventually qualified for the world championships, with two teams ranking in the top 12 worldwide. Competitors include Matthew Bybee ’25, Chris Huang ’27, Nicholas Huang ’27, Everett Jin ’26, Andy Li ’26, Vivek Patel ’24, Arav Rawat ’24, Joseph Sun ’25, Michael Yang ’26 and Andrew Ye ’26.
With the St. Mark’s robotics program rapidly gaining interest and success, the School recently founded its own FTC team and plans to start competing next year.
“I have high hopes for the St. Mark’s FTC team next year,” Patel said. “The long-term goal of the team is to generate sustainable success, and continued excellence in engineering.”
Back
“FTC events have a unique and exciting atmosphere filled with anticipation, camaraderie and a spirit of competition,” Arav Rawat ’24 said. “Every single team has worked so hard to get to this point and are anxious about how their robot will perform.”
The FTC has teams from grades 7-12 design, build, program and operate their own robots to compete in head-to-head challenges. Participants are also eligible to apply for over $80 million in college scholarships.
“While stressful and chaotic at times, FIRST’s motto is ‘gracious professionalism,’ which means in this context - even in the middle of a stressful and chaotic competition, you still maintain your calm and work through problems logically and professionally,” Vivek Patel ’24 said.
Marksmen competed on five different teams, all of whom qualified for the Texas State Championship. Three of those teams eventually qualified for the world championships, with two teams ranking in the top 12 worldwide. Competitors include Matthew Bybee ’25, Chris Huang ’27, Nicholas Huang ’27, Everett Jin ’26, Andy Li ’26, Vivek Patel ’24, Arav Rawat ’24, Joseph Sun ’25, Michael Yang ’26 and Andrew Ye ’26.
With the St. Mark’s robotics program rapidly gaining interest and success, the School recently founded its own FTC team and plans to start competing next year.
“I have high hopes for the St. Mark’s FTC team next year,” Patel said. “The long-term goal of the team is to generate sustainable success, and continued excellence in engineering.”
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
