Designing rockets at UCLA, climbing Half Dome, and whitewater kayaking were highlights this summer. Leading a team of PTLW students in the JPL Competition will be an exciting goal this fall.
Rocket Design at UCLA
A highlight of this summer was living on campus at UCLA and building and testing rockets at the Engineering department's Summer Institute for high school students. For 3 weeks we lived on campus and built rockets. First we designed small 3D printed rockets and launched them at the park, then we built large ones with class G motors and launched them in the desert. These larger rockets transported an egg to 2500 feet in 10 seconds and kept it intact during recovery.
Hiking Half Dome
After school ended, I went with my family and Trent to Yosemite. We spent about a week there and on the last day we hiked Half Dome. I had been wanting to hike it for years and for the first time we had the permits to hike it.
We woke up at 4:30 and started hiking at 5:00, just before sunrise. The hike took almost the entire day, ending at 5 PM.
Kayaking and Boy Scout Summer Camp
After the UCLA program ended, the senior Scouts went on a camping trip at the Kern River where we learned how to man a single, hard-shell kayak. I had done a lot of kayaking and canoeing before, but whitewater kayaking was much more challenging:
Next I traveled with my Boy Scout troop to Camp Pigott, a spectacular camp in Washington state. During this time, I led the troop as a Senior Patrol Leader with two other senior scouts. I earned the Metalwork merit badge. I also helped our troop win the camp's in 8-stage marathon by coming in 1st place in the mountain biking section.
PTLW JPL Competition Team
This year I am excited about being part of the leadership of this class and participating in the JPL competition. I also am looking forward to using more of the tools I have access to during the building process. In general, this year I am looking forward to learning more about math, physics and the application of my ideas in design.