Walking into Blue Valley High, juniors Srijan Singh and Gabriel Jiang watched as a small robot maneuvered across the competition field, precisely picking up hexagonal blocks and placing them on a backdrop. Singh said this moment stuck with him.
“I was amazed by how much it could do with it being such a small robot,” Singh said. “It opened the doors for me to expand my creativity and have something to escape from academics.”
At the time, Blue Valley Northwest was the only school in the district without a FIRST Tech Challenge team. Now, the Mechanical Husk1es are changing that.
“I [thought] it was time that all five schools collaborate and grow their knowledge on robotics, and Northwest was that missing piece,” Singh said.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a youth-serving nonprofit dedicated to STEM education.
Singh began his robotics journey through a FIRST Robotics Competition team during his freshman year at the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies. He said this inspired him to bring robotics directly to Northwest.
Starting a team from scratch meant Singh spent much of his summer laying the groundwork. He said he developed a routine, dedicating about two hours daily to securing funding—cold-emailing around 45 STEM companies, applying for grants and reaching out to sponsors like KC STEM Alliance and Garmin. Singh said this summer will be easier as he has built those relationships.
“Just having the experience to email companies will allow me to connect with even more people,” Singh said.
Jiang, co-founder and co-president of the Mechanical Husk1es, played a key role in finding a sponsor at Northwest. He reached out to biology teacher Cameron Hora, believing Hora may have fewer club commitments as a newer teacher. After meeting with Singh and activities director Kelsey Bakalar, Hora agreed to take on the role.
“A big reason I took on the club is because of how [Singh] presented it and made it seem manageable, exciting and fun,” Hora said.
The team began meeting in September, spending the early weeks brainstorming and designing their robot. Singh said they have 2-3 meetings per week, each lasting around two hours.
Despite the time commitment, Jiang said the work feels rewarding when he sees the robot in action.
“We put [in] a ton of time—we probably spent three days’ worth of time on just CAD (computer-aided design) itself,” Jiang said. “It’s a lot of fun to [see] your robot compete.”
Their competitions are part of the FIRST Tech Challenge, where each year, teams design a robot to complete tasks based on a new theme. This year’s theme, Into the Deep, simulates ocean pollution.
“The game provides inspiration for people to build robots that save the sea,” Singh said. “You pick up blocks from the ‘ocean’ and either make [the robot] a specimen (a block with a clip) that you clip on the [robot] or put [the blocks] in a bucket.”
Each team competes in six matches before moving on to league tournaments, followed by playoffs, where teams draft alliances in a double-elimination bracket.
“[It’s] like a whole thing—it’s 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” Singh said.
Hora described the competition environment as high-energy, with teams making last-minute adjustments and troubleshooting between matches at their pit tables.
“Something I really like about FIRST robotics is that you often end up on an alliance with a team you played against,” Hora said. “This results in a super positive and friendly environment.”
Matches last two and a half minutes. The first 30 seconds are autonomous, with preprogrammed movements, while team members control the rest manually. Between matches, teams return to their pits to troubleshoot.
Despite the competitive nature, teams collaborate, sharing parts and strategies. Senior Darren Hall, a Mechanical Husk1es member, said he enjoys learning from other teams.
“We teach each other the things we did to our bots, how we tackle problems [and] how we solve them,” Hall said. “FIRST describes it as ‘coopertition’ (a combination of cooperation and competition), where you are competing against others in a fair, meaningful way [while] trying to win, but also [having] fun.”
Beyond competitions, Singh said robotics has helped him develop professional skills and deepen his STEM knowledge. Hall, who plans to major in mechanical engineering, said hands-on manufacturing with CNCs (computer numerical controls) and 3D printing has been invaluable.
Looking ahead, Singh said the team is considering outreach at feeder middle schools in hopes of expanding the Mechanical Husk1es.
The team competed at state on March 8 but did not advance to the international competition in April.
“The reality is that as a rookie team, we encountered inconsistency errors that come from inexperience,” Singh said. “We had a really good robot, but it was too unreliable.”
Despite this hurdle, Singh said the team will continue to push themselves next season. Singh said robotics is a team that means a lot to him.
“I come to school just so I can do robotics, just so I’m here for those meetings and enjoying myself,” Singh said. “I think everyone else feels the same way.”
