by The Janksters
The Janksters, Notre Dame’s Robotics team, recently concluded their annual Bootcamp, a four-day program designed to introduce interested students to their structure, systems, and spirit. Organized and led by veteran members, the camp combined creative, hands-on activities with team-building exercises. This year’s Bootcamp welcomed 13 enthusiastic freshmen, all excited to learn what it means to be a Jankster.
Bootcamp kicked off with introductory workshops for the team’s four committees—Mechanical, Programming, Electronics, and Business. Campers alternated between sessions that focused on showing rookies the core functions of each committee and fundamental skills of robotics. In the Mechanical and Electronics workshops, campers got their hands dirty using tools to build wooden houses and learned the basics of circuits by assembling Doodle Bots. Programming taught campers Java basics and how coding powers our robot, while the Business students explored Adobe Illustrator and designed custom buttons, giving them a taste of the team’s creative side.
After experiencing all four introductory rotations, the bootcampers chose two committees to delve deeper into during exploratory workshops. The students used computer-aided design to create custom keychains in the Mechanical workshop, crimped and stripped wires to create bracelets in Electronics, coded a custom LED configuration for Programming, and learned how to draft an Instagram caption and graphic with the Business committee. Additionally, all rookies went through a driving workshop where they learned how to operate the team’s 2025 robot, Lupe!
Once the exploratory activities wrapped up, the bootcampers were split into groups and began working on their biggest task yet—the Rube Goldberg project. A Rube Goldberg machine is a contraption that does a simple task in a complicated way, using a chain reaction of events. Each team was tasked with creating a machine that pops a balloon, incorporating 5 different steps, as well as designing a branded identity—complete with a poster—for their team. This final challenge brought together everything the campers had learned throughout the week, pushing them to apply their technical skills through teamwork, planning and creativity. The project tested their problem-solving abilities and wrapped up Bootcamp in a challenging and exciting way.
Many of the rising sophomores who participated in Bootcamp last year, returned as mentors. They took on the responsibility of leading workshops and supporting these new students. Kavya ’28, rookie liaison, commented, “Planning Bootcamp was a great experience because I was able to learn the importance of delegation as well as strong communication.” This experience provided veteran members the opportunity to develop their leadership and collaboration skills while helping next year’s freshmen feel welcomed and confident.
Over the course of the week, rising freshmen formed friendships with both their peers and veteran team members. As Saesha ’29 shared, “I thoroughly enjoyed Bootcamp and am very glad I got to meet so many amazing friends, mentors, and coaches. I learned a lot of valuable things, which will definitely come in handy. I am so excited to join the Notre Dame Robotics Team and become a Jankster soon!” The Janksters are looking forward to welcoming everyone back at our first meeting of the year on Tuesday, Aug. 19, and to seeing families at Parent Info Night on the same day from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Learning Commons!
Photo Credit: Richa '27, Kavya '27
