Who, What, Why?Hi there,
My name is Elise Xu. I'm a high school senior taking a course offered by college board called AP Research. I'm also a third year member on a high-school robotics team (FIRST Robotics Competition) in Michigan. More details about these programs are down below ↓↓↓ |
What is AP Research?AP Research is the second course in the AP Capstone experience following AP Seminar. This course allows students to deeply explore a single academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. High school students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense. For more information, click here.
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What is FIRST Robotics Competition?The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. It's one of five robotics competition programs organized by FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Under strict rules, limited time and resources, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team.
For more information, click here. |
Why did I choose this topic?ROBOTICS IS LIFE. Yea, that.
But also, it's because mentorship in robotics is something that's unique to me, something I know I will not become tired of even after a whole year of researching. For all years round, I work with mentors and students, both rookie ones and experienced ones. I see how students act when mentors are around; I hear what students say when mentors aren't around. I've also been a mentor myself (although not for FRC), and the desire to do a better job to inspire, teach, and make a positive impact on the students is what drives me, and, I believe, thousands of others. With these personal experiences, before even starting this research course, I've been immersing myself in an environment that is not often available for professional researchers. This is a topic that I could offer a completely new perspectives to, a study that I know well, and how to do a good job at. |