Andy Nguyen

This experience relates to the Leadership Competency because as the captain of a nine person team I had to cultivate a culture for my teammates to work together towards a common goal. I set plans and deadlines for the team to hit in order to achieve the goals we set out for at the start of the season.

In my Junior year of High School, my team entered the World Championship ranked as the #1 team in the world. After the qualification matches we were undefeated headed into the alliance selection period where we paired up with another two other top teams in the world. Everything was going smoothly, through the first two rounds we handled the opposition easily, setting up a clash against a high-powered alliance in the finals. After 18 matches at the World Championship we were 18-0, this is where it all fell apart. In the first match, I ran the wrong program, causing us to get blown out by the other alliance. Ten months of early mornings, hard work, and perfection unraveled by a simple erasable mistake. The dream of winning the World Championship fell through my fingers as soon as it came into sight. Looking back this experience has taught me more about how the learning is more profound than any accomplishment could ever be.

Team captain, lead robot designer, lead programmer - 8644 Brainstormers team

2nd Place - 2022 FTC World Championship (6000 teams worldwide)

Highest Scoring Robot in the World - 2021 FTC Season (no world championship due to COVID)

Champions & Inspire Award - 2022 FTC Arkansas State Championship

Champions - 2018-2021 Massachusetts FTC State Championship (4 consecutive years)

Champions - 2022 Chesapeake (Virginia & Maryland) FTC State Championship