Team Leadership

Sephtis Sullivan

Position: VP of Finance (CFO)
Grade: Sophmore

Why did you join the team?
I need friends and I was struggling with a home situation.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I really liked the idea of it and I wanted the experience.
What is your favorite team memory?
When Julia and I shared a room together in Utah I had a ton a fun with her we watched a little bit of the Harry Potter movie marathon it was great fun.

Callum Fleming

Position: VP of Awards
Grade: Junior

Why did you join the team?
One of my friends invited me to a team meeting and the reason I stayed was because I just enjoyed having more friends and making new relationships.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I wanted to be a part of the leadership to guide the team to better heights and try to help make the team as best as it could be.
What is your favorite team memory?
My favorite team memory is the first time we did the dance at the Oklahoma regional my freshman year. It was so much fun and a lot of other teams start to join in with us as well!

Riley Brown

Position: VP of Outreach
Grade: Senior

Why did you join the team?
I was asked to come to a meeting by some friends because they were interested. I wasn't initially interested at all in STEM, robotics, or anything like that, but spending time with the team during preseason helped me discover my passion for STEM.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I wanted to leave a lasting impact on the team that has given so much to me. I also wanted to help new members enjoy their time on the team as a leader.
What is your favorite team memory?
Hanging out with other teams at the 2023 Colorado Regional, we made so many good long lasting friends and connections there!

Caleb Ballentine

Position: VP of Website & Social Media
Grade: Sophmore

Why did you join the team?
Everyone on the team kept asking me to join, and it sounded fun so I said why not. And the more that I got to hangout with this team, the closer I got to them. Joining the team has been one of the best choices I have ever made. Especially since I've been into robotics related topics pretty much my whole life!
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
The reason why I joined our leadership team is because I've loved this team since the first day that I got to join, and I wanted to show it through putting in as much effort as possible! Especially since the VP of website and social media position just sounded like a perfect fit for me since I have been working with other website related things and love to post great memories onto social media. I'm so grateful to have our mentors and my team there for me.
What is your favorite team memory?
My favorite memory so far is dancing and singing at the Colorado regional with all of the other teams, I'm not lying when I say that robotics kids are louder than a stadium of football fans!

Christian Moro

Position: VP of Media & Marketing
Grade: Junior

Why did you join the team?
My sister was on it, and I also love engineering and stuff similar.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
Our past media had been good, but was really lacking my freshman year. I love the video making process and wanted to improve our videos, so that’s why.
What is your favorite team memory?
Honestly, having 20~ ppl at tuk-tuk’s in Utah and hanging out was my favorite part ever.

Kellen Steiner Smith

Position: VP of Manipulator
Grade: Senior

Why did you join the team?
I joined the team because I knew a few people who had joined the team a few years prior and said that it would be an amazing opportunity for me, and after learning more about what the team did I knew that I wanted to join.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I wanted to go for a leadership position on the team because my freshman and sophomore years, I had a a fantastic time and learned so much as a member of the manipulator sub team, and wanted to pass on those experiences and knowledge to the next generation of team members.
What is your favorite team memory?
My favorite team memory is from the 2022 Oklahoma Regional when in a quarter-final match as the manipulator driver I thought that we were guaranteed to lose, but we managed to pull together a victory. Even though we ended up loosing the next match, getting knocked out of the bracket, the feeling of pure joy that I felt when I look up at the board and saw our score is a feeling that I hope I never forget.

Elliot Rutberg

Position: VP of Mobility
Grade: Sophmore

Why did you join the team?
I joined the team because I like robots, learning, and being a part of something, an added suprise was that it is super fun
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I wanted to be a part of leadership because I felt the need to teach other people what I have learned and to do my part in ensuring the team does well in the future
What is your favorite team memory?
My favorite memory was at the Colorado regional in 2023, the team went to the after party and spent hours with the other teams there, the best part of it was meeting other teams, teaching them the team dance, being taught other dances, and just in general hanging out. That for me was the greatest introduction to FIRST and really showed me what the first community was like.

Jeremiah Durham

Position: VP of Programming
Grade: Senior

Why did you join the team?
I joined the team because I enjoy engineering and programming.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I wanted to be a part of CGW’s leadership to perpetuate and inspire an excitement for STEM in members, both new and old. Additionally, CGW was the first place that I felt like I immediately fit in, and I want to make others experience the same thing.
What is your favorite team memory?
Double auto balance

Dakota Vissarriagas

Position: VP of Electronics
Grade: Junior

Why did you join the team?
I was informed about the team through my parents. They were looking at clubs at Coronado and saw the robotics club. I've always been invested in robotics do I wanted to continue in that path so I joined the team.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I joined as I had previous experience with robotics and I saw just what the team does and was very interested. Technology was always my strong suit and when it came to Cougars Gone Wired I saw everything I enjoyed in the team which really brought me to the team.
What is your favorite team memory?
My favorite team memory is sitting down on Saturdays during build season and eating and having fun with the team. Saturdays are the most enjoyable days as it's always a nice day to get lots of work done and seeing everyone together having fun is really heart warming and amazing.

Cooper Vaida

Position: VP of Systems Integration
Grade: Senior

Why did you join the team?
joined the team in my Sophomore year as I was looking for a stem-related club where I could learn and experience engineering for myself, as well I was in Mr. Mclean's classes beforehand and really liked him as a teacher as well as the subject he taught.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
Why I wanted to be leadership is simple, I love the robotics team and wanted to engage with it more and to be a larger part of the team, as well I would be filling a hole only I can fill as last year almost all of System Integrations graduated leaving me the only experienced member of the sub-team.
What is your favorite team memory?
Its really hard to pick a favorite memory as I have so many good ones, but I think my most memorable moment so far was during last years Colorado Regional. We were in the playoffs and every time the Arlo (our robot) would play a match he would come back missing a bunch of the rivets holding the baseplate onto the frame. So I would desperately in the few minutes we had between the matches put all the rivets back in the holes fast enough so we could do a systems check before the start of the next match. The chaos of repairing everything that happened in the last match during the short interval between matches made that one of the most fun and tense moments of my life.

Jasmine Cole

Position: VP of Special Projects
Grade: Junior

Why did you join the team?
In my freshman year, I was in one of Mr. Mclean's engineering classes and he was 'advertising' the robotics team; I decided to go to the first meeting that year mainly because I was super into robots and wanted something to do after school.
Why did you want to be a part of the leadership?
I joined mainly because I thought it would be a great experience and I wanted a chance to make an impact on the team.
What is your favorite team memory?
The 2023 Denver regional team social was one of the greatest memories I have since that was the first time I ever was in anything like that. Socializing with the other teams and teaching and learning new dances from other teams was such a different and amazing experience.