The Goon Squad has had a tremendous season crescendoing their limits. This robotics team has achieved four banners lately, which is the most this team has ever won in a single year, and they aren’t even done yet. 

Moreover, we would not have been able to achieve this success without the help of the business team. By putting countless hours and effort into their script, essays, and well-produced videos, they gave the team guaranteed access to the States and Worlds competition by winning the IMPACT award, which is the most prestigious award out there. That being said, it is important to get an inside look at the thoughts and feelings of one of the business team members through their journey to success inside team 3604 the Goon Squad. Sophomore Vriana Becker dedicates her time and energy to this team, and here is what she has to say:

Can you describe the journey your robotics team took to win the Impact Award at the state level?

I think there are many facets to why we won Impact at states. We had a really good Impact team this year. Everyone on the Impact team, Sam, Brodrick, and Jojo are incredibly good and disciplined workers; these people dedicated their time and energy to making the best presentation possible. Another reason why our work gave us a state-winning Impact award is the amount of “Impact” that our team did to all of our community. Through events like our golf outing and coding seminar, we strive to make First of Michigan a better place and our community.                                                                                                

What inspired you to join the robotics team and specifically the business team?

I joined robotics originally because I quit the theater club but was required to do some sports club, so I joined the robotics club, thinking it was like a sport but for nerds, and I started on the coding team. I did not enjoy coding. However, FIRST offers so many learning opportunities for different career paths, that I could switch from the coding team into business. I then learned that I flourished through a theater background and I am now a team lead on it.

How did you approach writing the script and gathering data for your award-winning project?

Something that we look into our past Impact Award Presentations that we submitted. This often gives us a perspective of what we did or didn’t do well in our presentations. After we present, the Judges then send really good feedback on our Impact Presentation; they often give really good critiques on what to improve upon and also give good highlights on what we do well. Something that aided our project is our mentors specifically Lily and Brandon. Lily is an extremely experienced person. She participates in many events and is the first and only female game announcer for the FIMstein field at states. She helped with making our presentation the best. Same thing with Brandon. He is an alumnus of the team and takes time out of his day to help students on this team.

Can you share some challenges you faced during the project and how you overcame them?

The main challenge that I faced was having to deal with my challenges while working on the Impact Award. It is a very stressful time and environment to be in. There is a lot of pressure and responsibilities that are tied throughout the project. School was also a factor that weighed down my morale and productivity as I dealt with my peers and schoolwork. Being an Impact lead meant being the representation of the team which made life more stressful trying to look and be the best you can be. However, the mentors were my saving grace. They helped me process the world and work; they gave me the tools necessary to not only win Impact presentations but also be at school and the pressure of being alive. They helped me a lot with that.

What did you think set your team apart from the other 130+ teams at the Michigan State competition?

What sets our team apart is that we have a good heart. As a team, we have a good soul. We are so weirdly in unison with each other; everyone is at the top of their game, amazing workers and the collaboration that we achieved this season truly surpasses it all. The amount of growth that I have seen through every grade level is amazing. The Goon Squad changes people for the better. 

How do you believe your role on the business team contributed to the overall success of your robotics team?

As the general business lead, I am mainly tasked with media management, data management, and overseeing the other two business leads. Through my experience as a veteran on the team, I gave good tips and advice to the future business team and the future members of the goon squad. In addition, it is not just the Impact presentation that I help, it is also helping the business team come out of their shell. There are a lot of people who come to the business team first because they don’t know their place in robotics and the world. I try my best to make them feel welcome on the team and get the most out of what it offers.

What impact do you hope your project(winning Impact) will have beyond the robotics team?

Our team participates in a lot of service projects that help out our local community. For example, we participated in working and building the Santa’s Workshop at a park. Our community service doesn’t just reach our local community but also outside of it. We created the Sunshine Project. This project takes the crochet stuffed animals we make and gives them to places for people who are in distress; for example domestic abuse shelters or children’s hospitals. This helps people who are in hard times to feel a lot better through crocheted stuffed animals.

Were there any particular mentors or individuals who played a significant role in your success? If so, how?

There are a lot of mentors who have helped me on this team. Probably the most important mentors are Rhiannon, Lily, and Brandon, all in entirely separate ways. Rhiannon helped me as I guess helped me process a lot of things that have happened to me in the past few years and gave me the tools necessary to help me process a lot of my trauma and baggage that I have. Another mentor who helped me on the business team was Brandon. He helped me learn how to be a good public speaker. He taught me that to improve in that area I have to know how to be confident with myself. This gave me the edge to talk to presenters, my team peers, and different sponsors, and to network and reach out to community organizations. He has helped me find my voice. Finally, Lily has been an absolute saint for me. The amount of advice she has given me to not just get through Impact but also life is so much. I cannot thank her enough for believing in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself.

How has being part of the robotics team influenced your future career aspirations?

Something that I learned while being on the robotics team is that I am good at communications public relations and talking to people. I enjoy that. I love listening to people and hearing about them and how their brain views the world. I am really happy that there is a place for that as when I first joined, being on the business team wasn’t something I first sought after. I am fortunate that the Goon Squad has allowed me to learn the strengths that I have in the professional world and given me the tools necessary to grow and further those strengths through things like the Impact award or passing out flyers for Goonettes.

Looking back, what advice would you give other students interested in pursuing robotics or similar extracurricular activities?

You are young. You’re still growing; there’s a lot of things that you know, but there’s also a lot of things that you don’t know. You should allow yourself time to grow, but not allow the other people in your life to grow up too fast. The most important thing in robotics is to have fun. Robotics can be very stressful and hectic, but ultimately robotics should be fun for you. Robotics is very fluid in the sub-teams it provides. That is one major strength that FIRST or the Goon Squad has which stands out above all other clubs and sports. Not only do we do all these fun events like the competitions and go to worlds, but most importantly we give people the choice to pursue these different career paths. We give people the choice and opportunity to explore CAD, programming, mechanical, outreach marketing, and business. Savor your youth, you are a kid.