M-A Robotics team showcases its 2023-24 robot 

On May 22, Menlo-Atherton High School’s robotics team members hosted a showcase presenting this year’s robot and their other accomplishments. M-A Robotics aims to provide students in the community with a space to explore engineering, programming and design with no cost or prior experience required.

With a team of 50 students and 10 mentors, M-A’s robotics team is the biggest it has ever been. In 2018, they started hosting Mechanical M-Ayhem, a competition they created for new members that introduces and trains them on how to use the software and hardware used for the actual FIRST Robotics Competition. In 2022, they began to include other schools such as Carlmont High School to extend this learning opportunity to communities outside of M-A. 

“Most people on the team have no experience,” said Paige McGaraghan, a sophomore on the robotics team. “I had never done anything in robotics before and it’s overwhelming at first but you use trial and error to learn.”

The club is not only for students to learn about engineering. Justin Park, a software engineer at Roblox and mentor for the team, described M-A Robotics as a company. Learning opportunities also include outreach, business and marketing. 

Leehan Kim, a senior at M-A, has been working on the branding side of the robotics team, using her art and design skills. Kim is behind the M-A Robotics team logo and merchandise. She joined the team after writing an article about them as a journalist for the high school’s newspaper, The M-A Chronicle. 

Students who join the robotics team not only get to learn in a welcoming environment but they also develop a strong community as they work toward the same goal in preparation for the FRC season. 

“The best part is the community. We have a very strong team that supports each other and it develops into friendships by the end of the year,” said Emile Freeman, a sophomore on the team. 

Through the experiences and skills gained in M-A Robotics, team members have developed goals to pursue engineering and programming in college. 

The team is supported by many volunteer mentors who dedicate time out of their busy schedule to work with the students. Ryan Cahoon, lead mentor and engineer at Zoox, is an alumni of the FRC and was awarded as a top mentor in 2023.