I am the best candidate for the technical captain role because I consistently prioritize the team. I have lead fabrication training since before I had a leadership position, and have lead electrical since before that.
I have the unique ability to be effective leader because of the respect I’ve built in new team members by fighting to involve them in real projects - weather those projects are robot cad, electrical or partner prep. Team members trust that I will try to get them involved in what they want to work on, regardless of who their friends are or if they fit in with the people leading that thing.
The realistic role of captains on 5940 includes…
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Maintaining organizational tools - I created and continuously kept the fabrication cutlist neat. I made sure that parts coming off the CNC had part numbers inscribed into them. I also played a major part in organizing the offseason (robot) project management sheet and trello.
With the technical captiain title, I want to improve the cutlist and part marking system, implement better tool organization systems, pilot basecamp (or something else) to replace trello, implement per-substem/project whiteboards, and fix the headache shelf.
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Training - I have lead fabrication training since the summer of 2022, and I organized the schedule for new members to be able to attend all the trainings for all the subteams. I successfully encouraged my peers to contribute to training, and tried my best to ensure CAD training happened without stepping outside of my role.
With the technical captain title, I want to further improve the integration of training between Fab, Cad, and Programming. I want to ensure that any new member has the opportunity and support to contribute at any level of technical, and that who likes/dislikes them doesn’t decide what training or support they get. I want to make sure that all of technical has quality, engaging, consistent training.
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Workshop/Project leadership - At every workshop, I make sure that someone is responsible for each critical task from the beginning. I ensure that the field gets setup, someone is running parts on each machine, and the CAM queue is being worked on. I check in with programming/Krish to plan how Mechanical and Programming/Driver practice can both happen efficiently.
With the technical captain title, I want to plan and publish the plans for workshop ahead of time, so members (especially those not fortunate to have flexible transportation) can contribute best to the team. I also want to fully revive the build blogs channel and personally ensure it’s used by each technical subteam after each workshop to keep the entire team updated, and to make sure the newsletter team has good stuff to send out.
I believe I’ve been demonstrating the ability to or directly contributing to each major responsibility of the technical captain for the last year, and have plans and ideas to further contribute to the team in that role.
Finally, although I don’t believe who “deserves” anything should matter and that decisions should be about what’s best for the team, I do deserve the role. I’ve poured my soul into BREAD for the past 3 years; I’ve done so many things I never wanted to for this team, and given up on so many other projects and activities to give more time to 5940. I have virtually nothing else to put on my applications because of the time I’ve spent, and I most deserve this title.