Interns

Alana MacKay-Kao

https://www.andoverrobotics.com/home

Hey there! I’m Alana, an alumna of FTC team 10331 ARC Hailstorm from Andover, MA who is currently studying physics at Wellesley College. I wanted to be a BTI intern because the FIRST community had a huge impact on who I am today and I believe that I still have a lot to learn from the people involved. When I’m not relying way more than I should on duct tape, I can be found making more art for my Dungeons and Dragons campaigns than my webcomic (whoops!).

My project focus is creating a device that will facilitate building FTC bots for individuals with upper extremity disabilities, allowing them to have a hands-on experience. I strongly believe that making FIRST accessible to as many people as possible is invaluable in encouraging self-confidence, innovation, and collaboration.

Coley DuPlessie

https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/team/19397

Hello! I’m Coley, a rising sophomore and captain of FTC team 19397, Soli Deo Gloria, which consists entirely of homeschooled, Christian students and is run out of my house in Foxboro, MA. I’m working with my teammate Gabe on putting on an event a couple weeks after kickoff, challenging teams to build a functioning robot for Power Play in an extremely small timeframe and enabling others to learn from those robots. We hope that, by giving teams an opportunity to practice, interact, and learn early in the season, we can help teams of all skill levels in the FTC community.

Chris Douglas

https://www.wolfpackmachina.com/

Hi, I’m Chris, I’m a rising senior on 18438 Wolfpack Machina from Beverly MA. For my project I’m working with Owen, to create mechanical and CAD/design resources for new teams starting in FTC. Both of us are super passionate about CAD/design and are trying to put out the resources that we wish we had when we were starting out in FTC. Our hope is that our project will help new teams be more competitive in their first seasons, and give them a sense of how an FTC robot is constructed. A fun fact about me is that I learned how to use scissors correctly this year.

Jocelyn Pern

https://www.andoverrobotics.com/home

Hi, my name is Jocelyn! I am from team 10331 ARC Hailstorm based in Andover, MA. One thing you should know about me is that I am a big fan of collecting figurines and anything Star Wars related (especially Baby Yoda)! My internship project focuses on bolstering Boston Tech Initiative’s website and social media presence, as well as creating a monthly/quarterly newsletter that includes community input. From this internship, I hope to spread awareness about FIRST in Massachusetts and make FIRST-related resources more accessible to the FTC community.

Ken Hawkey

https://sites.google.com/site/geartick6055/

Hello! My name is Ken. I am going to be a senior in fall 2022. I live in the town of Lincoln, MA, and am the mechanical captain of team 6055 the GearTicks. My project, in collaboration with Andy, is to produce a model of a sample robot with general mechanisms to fit many different game types. My reason for applying for the internship was so that I can help make Massachusetts the place to be for FTC and STEM in general. A fun fact is that my team has the best headwear.

Kaden Cassidy

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJT1K2TzziTT83mfz_i-Mvw

My name is Kaden Cassidy and I’m a rising senior at Lexington High School, Massachusetts, as part of team 14039 IrRaTiONAl. I have been machining for many years and am now sharing my knowledge with the community through a website with subtractive manufacturing resources. I believe that the next step for many teams, whether it be 3D printing or CNC Milling, is learning to machine or improving at machining. I’m hoping to learn more about other teams and grow ideas within the community as part of BTI. A fun fact about me is that I rock climbed for 3 years and now compete in track and field throwing events.

Owen Cooper

https://www.wolfpackmachina.com/

I’m Owen, a rising senior on 18438 Wolfpack Machina in Beverly MA. I do a lot of mechanical and CAD/Design work on our team which I’m really passionate about, so I wanted to apply for this internship to help people learn more about this area. I am working with Chris to create a library of mechanical tutorials to teach people who are new to this area what I wish I had known when starting out. A fun fact about me is that I don’t have a lisp unless I’m talking through a microphone.

Peter Hanna

https://www.wolfpackmachina.com/

Sarah Zhang

https://www.andoverrobotics.com/home

Hello! I’m Sarah (She/Her) and I’m from 10331 ARC Hailstorm in Andover, MA. I am a rising senior, and my project is to develop an app that helps teams with their documentation. The app has multiple functionalities all located in one area for easy accessibility. It consists of a camera and voice memo functionality, which can be easily renamed so optimal organization. These two functionalities will ensure that your memories as a team will stay forever! The app also includes a calendar functionality, where you can set events, reminders, and tasks. There is also an area where teams can take notes to jot down quick ideas they may want to implement, and along with that there is also a drawing functionality that allows teams to sketch out their designs that may be implemented later on! These two functionalities allow teams to keep a digital version of their ideas throughout the season. Through this internship, I hope to make documentation easier for teams of all experiences and to help rookie teams find a place to start in their exciting journey of FTC! A fun fact about me is that I call colored pencils pencil crayons. 

 Thomas Davis

https://www.wolfpackmachina.com/

Hi, I’m Thomas, member of FIRST Tech Challenge Team 18438, Wolfpack Machina from Beverly, Massachusetts. Next year, I’ll be a senior in high school, so, before my final year in FTC, I’m hoping to give back to and expand the FIRST community that has helped me so much. This summer, I am interning with Sam and Andy to fundraise for BTI. My fun fact is that I have unconventionally strong CNC router bit preferences.

Vismay Ravikumar

https://www.andoverrobotics.com/home

Hey, I’m Vismay (he/him), a sophomore at Andover High! At the moment, I am a proud member of First Tech Challenge team 5273, ARC Thunder, which alongside its two other sister teams forms the consortium of the Andover Robotics Club. My internship proposal was to develop a library that would allow teams to implement autonomous modularly. This library would consist of numerous interfaces and a helper operational mode that would allow teams to select which modules they would execute, where each module corresponds to an action taken during the game(i.e depositing freight, delivering ducks, parking), as well as the starting position and alliance based upon which the paths would be modified. Alongside this, I am working on modifying the RRPathVisualizer, developed by First Tech Challenge team 7236, Recharged Green, to make it more interactive by allowing the user to add and reposition points in the path as well as play with start and end tangent values through touch as opposed to repeatedly altering the code. To complement this all, I hope to make a series of video tutorials for coding the autonomous segment of the game. Through this internship, I hope to spearhead the concept of modularity in autonomous code throughout the First Tech Challenge community, and lower the barrier of entry for rookie teams aiming to make a huge splash in the autonomous period! A fun fact about me is that I’m an avid runner, and make an effort to run five to eight miles every morning, but sometimes I’m just too lazy to roll out of bed!

Gabe Cole

https://ftc-events.firstinspires.org/team/19397

Hey! My name is Gabe, I live in Topsfield, MA, and I’m a rising homeschooled sophomore from FTC team 19397, Soli Deo Gloria, based in Foxboro, MA. I enjoy rock climbing, skiing, reading (especially sci-fi), and creating egregiously sketchy contraptions held together mostly with duct tape and a prayer. I’m working with my teammate, Coley, to plan and organize an event shortly after kickoff; in which teams are challenged to build a robot in a couple weeks and share their ideas. The event will include several activities that will hopefully give a leg up to teams, including talks from members of the FTC community, scrimmages, and various other STEM-related activities. We are hopeful that this event will help to cultivate and grow inspiration early in the FTC season, as well as providing a place for teams to practice and learn.