Reese’s MITEE Reflections

Hi, I’m Reese! I am a senior in high school and a MITEE* veteran. I have been on the Bearbotics FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team 19541 for the past three seasons, currently the Circuit Sharks under The MITEE Network. My experience in this program was a huge part of finding out what I want to do in life. For me, it helped me see the many ways technology could become a career path.

I originally found out about this program about three years ago when I was a freshman. I had heard about it through a friend and thought it sounded fun! Robotics was always something that had seemed really cool to me, and I wanted to give it my best shot. In my first year, we formed three robotics teams, and we were all new to the FTC program, so we all had a lot of learning to do! Something I didn’t know at the time was the large number of leadership opportunities this would end up giving me. I was most often a lead programmer, directing my team’s workflow and making sure we had enough time for both work and fun, but I was also able to lead some projects while I did an internship for MITEE!

As I mentioned earlier, these internships helped me and my fellow students develop skills during the robotics season and transition them to real-world projects and careers. For example, we toured a lot of tech-related companies, hosted classes and clinics for our community, and developed our own products and projects! Over the years, I taught programming through LEGO Robotics, designed and managed an escape room, and worked with our marketing team to promote our presence in the community.

This unique program has not only shaped my life, but it has presented me with a number of interesting career opportunities. My main area of focus while I was on the robotics team was programming and computer science, and I now plan to major in computer science while I study at Utah State University. The digital world has a lot of applications, and it can be used in everything from websites to video games to data storage. My main goal with studying computer science is to work in the world of video game development and software development.

Now, MITEE’s identity is changing a bit from the Bearbotics team I worked with. There’s a new generation of student innovators ready to rock the world! Today, each team is working together to forge their own unique path based on their career interests. These teams are working hard to make their mark with their own ideas and goals. I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future!

*About MITEE

MITEE is an acronym for Monumental Impact for Technology, Engineering and Entrepreneurship which represents Monumental Impact’s programs and community of students and adults.  The MITEE Network comprises  three FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams: (1) 19541 Circuit Sharks; (2) 19970 The 3rd Turtle; and (3) 20771 Bionic Badgers. In addition to competitions, these teams offer their own set of products, services and events to the community, operating in a manner similar to an engineering firm.

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