Episode 5 Reflection

Brian Helewa

Adrian Meza had no idea or experience about Robotics, but at school when he looked at others doing it, he saw it to be fun. Through his whole experience, he didn’t regret joining as he made good memories and he personally took it as his best part of high school. He used what he learned from robotics to apply it to MIT where he got internships that revolve around the field of engineering. Robotics has helped him with both his internships and his time in MIT due to what he learned throughout his whole high school/ Mustang Robotics career.

Andrew Lai

I really enjoyed hearing Adrian Meza talking about his experiences at MIT and what he learned, experienced, and done while on the other side of the country. I was glad to hear more about the application process of students who got admitted to prestigious colleges, especially MIT. Hearing the opportunities presented to Adrian through MIT excited me and inspired me to push myself to try to get to that point in my life. Hearing about the actual campus of MIT did not surprise me but gave me insight into how I should view colleges and visiting them. I look forward to taking digital tours of colleges as Adrian recommended and plan to apply to many colleges and pick from a list as Adrian did. His work with engineering and software development with NASA, NASDAQ, self-driving cars, etc., amazed me and gave me a sense of what could become of myself in a possible future. Overall, Adrian gave me inspiring insights on what it was like to attend MIT and how he progressed through his career and life in general.

Edward Lee

I agree that joining Mustang Robotics was one of the best decisions of my life. It has drastically impacted my path and what I wanted to do in the future. I can definitely relate with the idea that I didn't really have much experience with robotics and was surrounded by people who have had experience. Utilizing a CAD software is definitely one of the best things and makes building robots a lot better. He gives me more confidence when applying for MIT and really makes me realize that he was in a similar spot that I am in right now.

Woojin Lee

This episode had Adrian, who graduated from MIT and worked at places such as NASA and NASDAQ. Adrian is the type of person I become where he goes to a top notch school, do really cool jobs, and do things to challenge himself and not out of necessity. The thing that was very interesting about Adrian to me was the fact that he really wasn’t set up to go to MIT from birth. His parents barely knew what MIT was when he got accepted and Adrian got accepted through his hard work and personal achievements, not a rigorous course that his parents set up for him at a young age to get into MIT, which is how I usually hear people get into prestigious schools such as MIT. Adrian was also very down-to-earth as he didn’t overstate his achievements and quite often undervalued them. That was a really good trait that I hope to have as being down-to-earth lets you be real with yourself and makes you personally understand what you are lacking and capable of in yourself. His statement about always wanting to do more also impacted me as the pressure from myself and my parents definitely have given me the same exact though multiple times. Another very interesting component to me was the campus and campus life of MIT as I knew about the competitiveness within MIT students but did not expect MIT to have a “normal” campus. As one of the best schools in the world, I expected MIT to have all the bells and whistles, displaying impressive architectural designs and technological marvels all over the campus. However, from the description Adrian had, MIT seemed almost boring and regular. One trait I noticed within MIT was that all the students had a drive to them that Adrian also had, as they would design, make, and build different and unique things to challenge themselves. This drive is what I think allowed Adrian to have so many skills and different job opportunities whether it be jet propulsion at NASA or designing the self driving cars. On the topic of jobs Adrian had, the jobs he had really helped me see how beneficial Mustang Robotics could be as for the NASA job, Adrian himself stated that the 3-d modeling experience from robotics he had probably gave him the job. Through robotics, he found his fondness for 3-d modeling, which set him apart from the other candidates to ultimately get the job and just shows how impactful an after-school club can be. Adrian’s words about not worrying too much about the college you go to definitely comforted me too as in high school, your main focus is to get into the best college you can, and sometimes you can forget that just because you didn’t get the best doesn’t mean you don’t have any good options. In conclusion, Adrian was the type of person I wanted to be, a role model of sorts, and I learned a lot from him through this interview.

Robert Meza

For episode 5, I found this episode enjoyable because a lot of the things he explains I have seen before and it allowed me to understand even more of how amazing it is. When it comes to 3d modeling or CAD, I came interested in it after seeing so many of the kids around me knowing how to do it, I felt like I should learn it, so I decided to apply for the CAD challenge for this year, similarly to Adrian in which he would see someone applying 3d modeling towards designing a robot. In regards to his internship at JPL, I was amazed to hear that because I’ve been to JPL before many times, and seeing what they do, it’s inspiring to make that attempt and become an intern, or even get a job there in the future. From listening to Adrian, I would also learn that you shouldn’t let statistics pressure you in not doing things you want, but rather you should,” shoot your shot.” With this mindset, it would allow you to just make the attempt on doing something. In the end, I found this episode enjoyable and inspirational.

Justin Monzon

• • College Life

    • Students use various motives for transportation

      1. From bikes to scooters, to maybe running

    • MIT is filled with students who have the same mindset of being challenged and academically skilled

    • The college has a nuclear reactor that trained students can run experiments on

    • The differences are noticeable from West to East coast

      1. Differences in weather, cultures, etc

    • Constant fear to fall in the mindset of no belonging in the college

      1. Mentally tiring to have this mindset

      2. Motivated people to be academically successful

  • Personality can change from high school to college, shaping for the better

    • Being a shy person to growing and being much more outgoing

  • Q & A Parts the Interested Me

    • Having honest points in experiences that discuss and be honest with who I am to get through interviews and applications

    • Be passionate about what I do

    • Robotics and passionate clubs gives me the opportunity to express myself and my desires to accomplish my goals and grow

Faith Shin

During this episode of the Symposium Series, I was greatly intrigued by Adrian's speech about MIT. I was fairly interested in this particular college and through this interview, I was able to get a brief description. While listening, I sort of gained motivation as I too wanted to go experience the plethora of opportunities provided by the prestigious college. I liked how he recommended to take virtual college tours as it would give insight into how the college looks like. I was also shocked by his resume as well. Not only did he get into such college, but he also worked with NASA, NASDAQ, and etc. I think through this interview, he sort of became my role model as I was amazed by all the opportunities he took advantage of. Finally, I was glad I was able to listen to the application process for MIT and his work on software development and engineering in the following companies.

Adrian Meza demonstrates that even a person with zero experience can join and be a huge contribution to Mustang Robotics. He also described how Robotics impacted his life, like gaining experience in 3D modeling and programming in preparation for MIT and his future career. Additionally, he gave great advice on the experience of MIT and showing a pathway for the students watching the interview. It is also implied that robotics had helped Adrian enter MIT which students may become more invested in building, programming, or managing a robot. He then provides information about the atmosphere in MIT to prepare students for, like cultural changes, different cuisine, clubs, and weather changes. This could also be vital information for a student since they would decide if they would fit into the MIT community, or they are more comfortable in another. He explained how competitive the community was which felt “toxic” to him and could be a deciding factor to deciding colleges. His career was very intriguing to several of the audience and engaged them in his activities, so people could be influenced by Meza’s answer to the job section of the podcast. The interview had a great atmosphere for people listening with interesting questions asked by Mr. Pearson and thoughtful responses from Adrian. Overall, the podcast did a great job with the conversation between Mr. Pearson and Adrian as they gave helpful information concerning how robotics shaped his college and career life, his MIT experience, and his career to the audience.

Keiko Vlaming

It is completely crazy to me that someone that was my brother’s close friend that knows who I am and has seen me grow up, has worked with NASA and has made designs that are being sent out into space. Adrian has been an inspiration to me to try to branch out and try new things. He always did things on a whim (a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained). Joining robotics, applying to MIT and putting his resume in the box for NASA. This has made me sign up for more clubs to try to find something for me. This has made me have motivation and more commitment to robotics. He has made me want to branch out more and try more things that catch my interests and be passionate of what it is that I will being doing.

Shannon Yeow

In 3rd grade, I bought a space book from scholastic just for the 3D glasses that came with the book as a bonus. I soon came to realize that through a couple flips, the images of the book came alive and I was able to explore the universe. I have always loved space and I began to delve deeper into STEM the summer of 8th grade when I created a penguin illustration through code. This further expanded my interest into computer science, leading me to join Mustang Robotics as a programmer. Watching the Symposium Series with Adrian Meza, I felt that we were both similar in the sense of our love for robotics. During the Symposium Series, he continuously emphasized that his decisions were made on a whim. He joined robotics on a whim, applied to certain schools on a whim, and ultimately chose MIT on a whim. Similarly, I also joined Mustang Robotics on some sort of whim. I had no connection to robotics except for my interest in computer science and I had no idea what to expect from the club. However, it became one of my greatest passions as robotics became my second family and I really enjoy all my time spent there. My dream is to attend MIT and work in the space industry. As a student at MIT, an intern at JPL NASA and NASDAQ, Adrian’s episode solidified my resolve to do my best to achieve my dreams and it was amazing seeing someone further along the path I wish to pursue. Though some things may be on a whim, some can turn out to be the best decisions.

Euphony Zhou

I really enjoyed Adrian Meza’s stream as it begins by expanding on how VEX robotics has benefited him such as the introduction to 3D modeling. Throughout his explanations on experiences at MIT such as the different cultural environment, difficulties, benefits, and food, it made me extremely curious about the school. Additionally, his work after college with NASA, NASDAQ, and self-driving cars fascinated me.