By Joyce Yang '23 

Over Thanksgiving break, Notre Dame’s Janksters were hard at work, showcasing the 2020-21 competition robot Luca at several outreach events. 

Team 1967 members Ushoshi Basumallick ‘22, Joyce Yang ‘23, Sophie Evans ‘22, Connie Vu ‘22, and Sam Lauser ‘24 were invited to present at the San Francisco Regional Mensa “Brilliance in the Bay” program. The largest and oldest high IQ society in the world, Mensa is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. From the intricate details of Luca’s chassis to Team 1967’s active participation in the local community, our students gave a thorough and holistic review of both technical subsystems of Luca and team mission in regards to female inclusion in STEM. In addition, students had the opportunity to display Luca’s capabilities with a live demonstration of driving, intaking, shooting, and vision tracking. 

Alongside Team 2813 (Prospect High School) and Team 649 (Saratoga High School), six Janksters celebrated Thanksgiving day at San Jose State University where Luca made an appearance at the SJSU versus Fresno State football game. In honor of FIRST’s recognition as STEM Club of the Game, students took Luca for a drive on the turf during halftime!  

Each showcase opportunity is a learning experience for our students; Team 1967 looks forward to the upcoming 2022 FRC season and future outreach events!