Episode 3 Reflection

Justin Diaz

In the third episode of the symposium series with Steven Alanzar gave me many ideas on the future of my career and also gave me a lot of inspiration to continue with 3D printing. In this episode, Mr. Pearson had a conference with Steven Alanzar or one of the first members in Mustang robotics. Alanzar was able to do so much with the little resources that he and his team had in the beginning, they even went to nationals! He had a great start in his career and his choices for the future with the help of Mustang Robotics and for him to begin studying mechanical engineering. After his time in studying, he finally decided to make his own business using 3d printers. He founded a company called “SoCal3D” which works selling products like a corona holder with a stylus and also much more. Using a Prusa i3 mk3 he built a business entirely based on selling 3d printed objects. And that surprised me that he was able to do so much with a 3d printer, this gave me the idea to maybe begin doing something similar with my 3d printer I have currently. But what surprised me the most and touched me more was the ability to make your own business with 3d printing as I have liked 3d printing for a long time. SO with this episode, I have decided to continue what I love and maybe start my own 3d printing business.

Brian Helewa

Steven Salazar was one of the first members that started Mustang Robotics, so he had no idea of what he was doing throughout his experience. When he reached finals he was able to learn and understand what was occurring as being an engineer for robotics. He used his experience of not knowing anything at the start to push himself to learn more about this field and pursue it. This helped him focus on a career that he was interested in making his final decision to be an engineer. As an engineer he wanted to learn more and experience it so he started to work at a machine shop, but lost interest, and then started a job at Composites San Diego where they analyze, design, conduct tests, and did little coding which enabled him to learn more in the field of engineering.

Steven Salazar has given me a better insight into what college life would look like for an engineer, a topic of study I am interested in at a school, I would love to attend. I personally was planning to visit colleges this year, but this is no longer possible with the spread of the coronavirus. This makes Steven’s insights significantly more valuable to a student like me. When Steven talked about his experience starting at UCSD and finding his place, it made me feel more intrigued about going to college and especially towards going to UCSD, such as with the rover challenge which particularly interested me. As he spoke about how he progressed through college and joined different clubs, activities, etc. it heightened my interests. To think that I could be doing something similar to Steven in the coming years excited me and gave me a passion to be like him, especially knowing he came from a similar place to me. Additionally, Steven’s work on advanced systems such as the lunar lander amazes me as well as his contributions to an advanced and fast coronavirus test. What inspires me the most, however, is his work on his own company for 3D printing. Steven’s passion to take on his own business in a field he feels passionately about seems like something I would love to do rather than working for someone else. I truly admire all the work he has done over his college career and aspire to be like him in the future as a fellow Mustang

Edward Lee

It is honestly amazing that one of the original members of the robotics club. A lot of the time in clubs, the alumni would be gone doing their own thing. It's actually pretty cool that I get to hear about the history of the Otay Ranch robotics club. I honestly wish I could've gone to Worlds, but it is nice to hear about the general atmosphere and just how amazing it is. I remember when I first went to the state competition during freshman year and understood what robots can accomplish based on the other teams. It basically opened my eyes and made me think of what to improve in the future.

Woojin Lee

In the third episode of this series, we have Steven Salazar, who graduated from UCSD with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was one of the earliest Mustang Robotics members, which was very interesting to watch and hear about the accomplishments that he made within the robotics team in its early years when there wasn’t as much organization or as big of a reputation. It was very interesting to hear about all the different programs he did beyond Mustang Robotics such as Yonder Dynamics and it really helped me see what was beyond where I am right now and what opportunities I might have in the future. Within his college life, I could see how much Mustang Robotics had affected him as not only did he already know how to do things in his freshman year at college that other people didn’t, but his experience in Mustang Robotics pushed him to pursue his passion of engineering even more. A recurring theme I see in these alumni is that they have a very strong sense of teamwork, as with Steven, even when he was sick and stuck home, he tried his best and did all that he could to not weigh down his team for the final senior project when there are many people who would have probably not given any effort. Beyond his college experiences, I found his job experiences very interesting as a biomedical job does not seem like the job to expand your career in mechanical engineering. Aside from that, I found his job at the composite very interesting as it came down to morals and the potential impact of what he is creating, which is something that is a big part in which I don’t want to do certain jobs such as a lawyer. His next jobs, having to deal with 3-d printing are also interesting as his own business for the cup holders simply fixes a mild inconvenience, which is something that I notice a lot of successful companies start out as. His work on COVID-19 testing is very interesting to me as I never expected 3-d printing to be a major part of a test for a virus, along with the fact that the job came as a result of him being nice to everyone. That made me realize the significance of other people even more and made at least not making enemies a priority as I go through the rest of my life. In conclusion, Steven was a great insight into how mechanical engineering is beyond Mustang Robotics and what different career opportunities you have.

Robert Meza

Steven Salazar is a mechanical engineer who went to UCSD, who also was part of the original 507 teams. With this, himself alongside his teammate didn’t understand what being in robotics meant until he reached nationals, in which they would understand and begin to show strong interest in robotics as they noticed the potential robotics has. Once entering college, he would major in mechanical engineering, and while in college, he would also continue to do engineering challenges like the University Rover Challenge. After listening to his story, I felt some sort of relation as for my first year, I also didn’t understand much, but once I made it to states, I understood that you must continue working to reach the goal, of which it is worlds. Besides this, I found this episode informative and heavily relatable as I felt lost at the start, but would begin to know where I’m at and how to start. Aside from being relatable, I would also feel informed as I would learn a bit more about mechanical engineering.

Karlo Reyes

The first thing that interested me about his college experience was that he worked with UTC Aerospace Systems to create collapsable shipping containers. Upon hearing this, I realized that college is much more than just a tertiary education: it is a bridge between academia and the real world. As the symposium episode progressed, I became intrigued by his small business, SoCal3D. I noticed that he followed the engineering design process to make money, which is similar to how robotics teams use this process to participate in competitions. Acknowledging this similarity, I understand now that robotics provides students like me with experience in the problem solving procedure used in the real world. Moving forward, I particularly liked when Steven advised, “Have confidence to do what scares you.” Later in the episode, he said “People get you ahead, so knowing the right person is definitely beneficial.” Seeing as I am an introvert, I tend to back away from talking to others. But when considering the opportunities I miss from keeping to myself, I have realized that I need to communicate and create relations with others, whether it be students or professors, because one’s success relies on the bonds they make.

Faith Shin

In this episode of the Symposium Series with Steven, I was fascinated with all the job opportunities he got: his job at the machine shop and Applied Composites San Diego. I also thought it was intriguing when he decided to make a "cup holder" after realizing that he had a problem fitting his hydro flask on his car's cup holder. I thought this was really inspiring as he sought for a job that fits him through a problem that he strived to solve. In a similar tone, Steven's interview seemed to discuss about exploring different atmospheres of businesses while Harwi's interview seemed to discuss about exploring different colleges. I learned that the John Muir college area is very pretty as well because it is more of a natured-themed. I would like to go on a tour physically one day when the virus ends.

On the topic of discussing episode 3 of the Symposium series, many things about the video were well executed and a great start for the episodes to come. The setup of the video, including the chat box, our logos, and the transitions, were performed smoothly and created a strong foundation for the rest of the series. I, and most likely several others, were very intrigued with Steven Salazar’s response to each topic and question asked by Mr. Pearson. Additionally, it was a great idea that the guest speaker was in a relatable situation to most of the audience, so people can connect more with the advice and information being broadcasted. For example, Mr. Salazar described what robotics looked like in tournaments and discussed what requirements he wanted for a college and career path. It might also bring new people into robotics because Salazar mentioned persuading information throughout the interview like obtaining experience with engineering, which is highly valued in developed countries, and a great place to develop bonds with people of similar interests. It was also interesting to listen about Mr. Salazar’s college life, especially the part where he elaborated on how he had to depend on other people for his grades. Furthermore, during his multiple careers, he put insight on how his first two jobs were taxing on him which fascinated me because I am pursuing a similar field to Mr. Salazar and gained the perspective of the alumni. Overall, I believe that episode 3 of the Symposium series was a fantastic video because of the set up of the segment, the intriguing questions asked to an alumni, and the information given on his experience throughout robotics, college and his career.

Shannon Yeow

In his first year as a Mustang Robotics member, Steven had a “horrible robot”, but luckily, he was able to go to finals during a tournament when the first seat team chose randomly and happened to choose them. In the end, though his team qualified for worlds, they ended up going to nationals that year and went to worlds another year. Steven was a part of the beginning stages of the growing Mustang Robotics. I think that it’s really amazing that before Mustang Robotics was a well-developed program, he had joined based on his love and passion for VEX. He decided to go to UCSD, Muir College, as a mechanical engineering major where he joined Yonder Dynamics, a global competition to build a mock Mars rover. Mechanical engineering is a very broad field that is applicable to many fields. After graduating, he worked at a machine shop, Applied Composites San Diego, sells cup holder adapters through his own company called SoCal3D, and is creating a device to detect coronavirus. I am a programmer for Mustang Robotics and I wish to pursue computer science in the future. However, watching my fellow teammates becoming so excited when it came to building led me to become interested in mechanical engineering. Through this episode, I was able to see the beginning of an engineering passion from his “horrible robot”, nationals, and worlds, to graduating UCSD and starting his own company. It was amazing hearing how engineering can be applied to solve many issues like cutting coronavirus tests from weeks to a mere 30 seconds. It just made me realize how powerful engineering can be and I hope that one day, I may also be able to help my community with my knowledge in STEM.

Euphony Zhou

Steven Salazar is a mechanical engineer who went to UCSD, who also was part of the original 507 teams. With this, himself alongside his teammate didn’t understand what being in robotics meant until he reached nationals, in which they would understand and begin to show strong interest in robotics as they noticed the potential robotics has. Once entering college, he would major in mechanical engineering, and while in college, he would also continue to do engineering challenges like the University Rover Challenge. After listening to his story, I felt some sort of relation as for my first year, I also didn’t understand much, but once I made it to states, I understood that you must continue working to reach the goal, of which it is worlds. Besides this, I found this episode informative and heavily relatable as I felt lost at the start, but would begin to know where I’m at and how to start. Aside from being relatable, I would also feel informed as I would learn a bit more about mechanical engineering.