This year, John Dewey High School’s Robotics team brings in new faces despite the challenges of recruiting new members as rebuilding its ranks could help reshape its chance to grow stronger, compete and succeed.
The Robotics members and mentors put in far more energy into outreach and welcoming in new students into the 2025-2026 school year, aiming to foster a supportive and inclusive environment that encourages growth, collaboration, and a passion for stem.
Aleksandr Kolchanov, a 12th grader and the captain of the school’s robotics team, explains that robotics is more than just building robots. “Robotics is a great way to learn more about the STEM field and practice applying many different skills,” he says. But for him, it’s also about something bigger: “It’s an escape from routine and a second family.” The robotics team gives students the chance to build cool things and solve fun challenges, which keeps them interested. “Many students are inspired by the opportunity to build something, something that is of your own edition,” he adds. Also, competitions and the chance to meet other passionate students make robotics a fun way to spend time after school.
However, in the past, the team has had trouble recruiting new members. “I think problems with recruitment come often from students getting bored quickly,” Kolchanov explains. To solve this, the team worked hard to keep new members engaged. “We focused on educating incoming freshmen, giving them skills, and making sure they are getting more involved,” he says. They also introduced fun projects, like building “Santa’s chair” and an “arcade machine”, to keep things interesting. Kolchanov believes this helped a lot with keeping newcomers interested and involved. “We did our best to prevent them from being bored,” he says.
This year, things seem to be going better. “With plenty of skilled members, the season always goes pretty well,” Kolchanov says, adding that the team is already more efficient with their tasks. “I think that this season will not be an exception. We’ll do our best, as we always did.” He’s confident that the team will continue to succeed and that the new members will help the team reach new heights.
Sabiha Saleh, a ninth grader who joined the robotics team just four months ago, represents the wave of new students the team has been working hard to recruit. “It used to be that not many new kids were coming to the robotics team”, she explains, but because the team was nearly empty, members began putting far more energy into outreach. She was one of the results of that effort, a proof that recruitment can bring fresh strength and new opportunities.
Saleh describes herself as a “Strong, hardworking, and communicative”, qualities she says that robotics has helped her grow. She loves the community she has found through projects like Santa’s chair and the claw machine, and she recalls that during the Robo play, “When I started to ask more questions and understand strategies, it became more interesting to me.” For Saleh, more members means more chances to succeed, and her message to students who are new to robotics is simple: don’t stress, ask questions, and trust your community.
Ricky Jiang, a 11th grade programmer on one of the school’s FTC robotics team, has watched the club shift from having very few new members to actively rebuilding. With the team nearly empty last year, recruitment became a priority, and current members are putting in more effort to bring students in and create fresh opportunities for success. For Jiang, robotics is more than machines. . “Robotics is a comradery for your teammates and classmates,” he said, explaining that the skills students learn “can be translated into the real world.”
He believes that stronger support from the school, including workshops and more visibility, would help keep the momentum going. Outreach events like beach cleanups and middle school programs have already boosted interest. As the team continues to grow, Jiang hopes new members embrace the values that define FIRST. “Gracious professionalism is you are forgiving, honest, and have integrity,” he said.
Recruitment might have brought in new members, but dedication is what will carry the team forward. If this season’s momentum is any sign, John Dewey’s robotics team is gearing up for a powered by passion and possibility.