Joining a school club can be a transformative experience, and for Gabe, being part of the TAISM Robotics Club has been just that. With several years of experience under his belt, Gabe has navigated the ups and downs of building and programming robots. In this interview, he shares insights about the challenges, triumphs, and lessons he's learned along the way. Whether you're a seasoned robotics enthusiast or someone curious about joining, Gabe's story offers a glimpse into the exciting world of robotics and why it's worth diving into.

1. What are some of the biggest challenges the club faces when building or programming robots? Share an example. 
The easiest part is figuring out what you're gonna make, but the hardest part by far is actually making it. A lot of the time an idea that works in your head ends up working horribly, so going through many scrapped ideas can be pretty difficult mentally. But it is so satisfying to finally get it. Like last year we had to make a launcher and it went through many, many phases, but finally figuring something out made up for all the scrapped ideas. 

2. How do you deal with setbacks, like when a robot doesn’t perform as expected?
It’s a lot of trial and error, and making a lot of very minor changes that end up being the make or break for some parts of the robot. So I’ve definitely learned to be open to changing something that doesn’t work the first time, even if it’s painful to. 

3. What inspired you to join the robotics club? Was there a particular moment or person that sparked your interest in robotics?
At first I joined on a whim, but after seeing some examples of robots from other teams, I thought to myself, “WOW! That’s cool and I wanna do that too.” So I just kept at it and now I can say that I’ve built some pretty cool things. 

4. What advice would you give to other students who are interested in joining the robotics club but aren’t sure where to start? 
If you don’t know where to start, there's tons of resources and tutorials online to get you started. Not to mention the people that have been in robotics for years (like me), are always open to help you out if you don’t know where to go. And I promise it’s not as hard as it looks. 

By Rital, grade 10