Max Clarke
Age: 15
School: CIS
What do you enjoy about robotics?
Building and coding the robot – what I'm doing this summer builds on the robotics I did in middle school.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
The opportunity to represent my place of birth and to be a part of something important to our future.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I have done a lot of travelling and I look forward to visiting Switzerland and the many interesting places there.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
I learned how to code in Java, how to better communicate with team members and things like structural integrity and building techniques.
Anything else?
Robotics has reinforced my interest in engineering as a potential career choice.
Teejhan Hansraj
Age: 15
School: John Gray High School
What do you enjoy about robotics?
It's a process of trial and error and seeing your hard work result in a well-built robot that performs well.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
When I learned that there was a national team, I wanted to be a part of it and have the opportunity to represent the Cayman Islands.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I'm feeling quite confident and looking forward to meeting other teams and seeing what their robots are like and what they bring to the competition.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
Communication and teamwork are two things that I have learned. Also, critical thinking – seeing a problem and envisioning viable solutions, then testing those solutions.
Anything else?
My time has been put to good use this summer – learning and interacting with the team.
Michael Marzouca
Age: 16
School: St. Ignatius Catholic School
What do you enjoy about robotics?
The fact that as a team we can come up with an idea for a robot and have it built and see our ideas come to life.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
It means a lot to be part of the group that represents Cayman on the global scale. It's much more that a Cayman event – this one will have nearly 200 countries and we want to show that although we are a small country we can compete in the big league with a great robot.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I'm excited as this will be a new experience and I look forward to seeing Switzerland and being a part of the competition itself.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
One of the important things I have learned is how to brainstorm ideas, evaluate those ideas, determine the best approach and execute that design to build the best possible robot.
Anything else?
Being involved in robotics has reinforced my career goal of becoming an aeronautics engineer.
Kyah Morris
Age: 15
School: CIS
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I enjoy meeting people and working with a team. I really like the futuristic aspect of robotics.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
I am excited about being a part of the team and having the opportunity to work with students from other schools.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
It's exciting for the team to travel and compete.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
I have learned coding and the importance of teamwork.
Anything else?
It's cool to be involved in robotics and work on potential solutions.
Drew Plania
Age: 14
School: Triple C
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I enjoy the coding part of robotics. I like being part of a team – robotics brings people together and encourages collaboration.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
I feel proud and happy to be part of the national team and get to use my skills in preparing for the competition.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I'm excited and a bit nervous because I haven't travelled for a long time because of COVID-19.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
I have improved my coding skills and I have learned more about building robots.
Anything else?
One of my responsibilities is to document the building process in our engineering journal that we will submit as part of the competition.
Alex Walters
Age: 16
School: CIS
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I enjoy the design aspect – coming up with a design and build that will solve a problem. I also like collaborating with team members and the social aspects of being on a team.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
I look forward to representing Cayman on a global level – showing people that a small country can be competitive.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I'm very excited! I have always wanted to go to Switzerland to learn more about the country and its culture.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
I've learned to appreciate other people's ideas and design opinions and the importance of being open-minded to new ideas. Having the ideas of eight is much better than the ideas of one.
Anything else?
Robotics has given me a greater interest in engineering design and related careers in innovation.
Diamond White
Age: 16
School: St. Ignatius Catholic School
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I enjoy the programming aspects of robotics and I love finding innovative and efficient ways to solve problems and improve the building process.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
I get to represent my country and show how robotics can solve problems and address global problems through innovation.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I'm excited and I look forward to learning more about other cultures and seeing how different countries built their robot and what I can learn from them.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
Teamwork and how to divide up tasks to accomplish more. I have also learned how to apply physics and mechanical principles to the design and build process.
Anything else?
Robotics can play a critical role in solving problems such as global warming and this summer it has been interesting to learn more about how Cayman can be a part of global solutions.
Marissa Wright
Age: 14
School: John Gray High School
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I really enjoy hands-on learning and want to study biomedical engineering. Robotics has given me a good foundation for engineering.
What does it mean to you to be selected for this national team?
To represent my school and my country is amazing. I was very excited when I received the news that I made the team. Being a part of the national team will help me in the future when I apply to universities.
How are you feeling about travelling overseas for this competition?
I am so excited about the opportunity. I have never travelled outside of the Caribbean, so this is big opportunity for me.
What skills have you learned from your involvement?
When I joined the robotics team at my school last September, I didn't know anything about robotics. But when we started brainstorming our design, I had lots of ideas and I have never looked back. I quickly learned programming and became the team's lead programmer.
Anything else?
Robotics really opened my eyes to the importance of physics and mechanics behind building robotic devices.
Adi Binoy
Age: 15
School: Cayman Prep and High School
What do you enjoy about robotics?
I like seeing how robots can be programmed to do tasks and each part of the robot can carry out specific functions.
What does it meant to you to be selected for this national team?
It’s an honor and a special opportunity to be able to be a part of the team that will represent the Cayman Islands.
What skills have you learned from your evolvement?
I have learned how to problem solve and how to design and modify the concept design to improve it. I also learned that it’s important to step out of my comfort zone and work with students from other schools.
Anything else?
Involvement with the team makes me want to learn more about engineering and specifically aerospace engineering.