Kashvi Bansal
6th Grade
Hi, my name is Kashvi Bansal! I am 11 years old and I am going to Heritage Middle School and Treasure Valley Math and Science Center. I love cooking and art and I also love doing sports, especially gymnastics. But what you might not know is I also love nerd sports, AKA robotics. Ever since I was little I loved Legos and I loved building things. Although I enjoy most things on the mechanical side I love learning new things like programming. I like how robotics is not all about one aspect but about many aspects such as programming, mechanical, and electrical but also about helping the community and improving our world. I love how robotics is not just some silly game but something that can make an impact. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, but I want to do something in the STEM field.
Rishi Gajera
7th Grade
I am Rishi Gajera, and a fun fact about me is that I am left-handed. I am hardworking and admit that I do sometimes get competitive. I am interested in programming the robot. In the past, I have coded using word blocks and have done python programming before, but have never used it with moving robots. Some other activities that I do outside of robotics and other education are sports such as tennis and soccer and playing the piano.
Maila Honcik
6th Grade
My name is Maila, I’m 11. I go to a bilingual school in Boise called Whittier elementary. I like playing Minecraft, drawing, and calling with friends. I usually do a lot of coding for the robots.
Athreya Iyer
6th Grade
I am Athreya Iyer. I go to Collister elementary in Boise, Idaho. I like to do mountain biking, swimming, cricket, basketball, and my most favorite is when I go to my park and play for the whole day. I am usually thinking on how to solve the problem in the easiest way possible and I would announce my idea when ready and in free time. When I grow up I am going to try to work with spacecraft and get into NASA, Spacex, Blue Origin, etc. A fun fact about me is that my arm span is larger than my wingspan.
Coach Richa Bansal
I’m a Sun-certified Java programmer with a master’s in computer science and economics. But none of that is as fun as playing with legos and nurturing the curiosity of young kids. Who thought legos and block programming would be more fun than writing apps in Java? I have two beautiful daughters who share and support my passion and vision of having fun while learning. My motto in life is that if I can positively influence any kid’s life, I have done my part.
Coach Chris Honcik
I’m older than the Unix operating system (look it up, kids!). I’m older than the Basic programming language. I have a BS in Chemistry and a MA in Physics. I love to understand how things work – everything from biological organisms and systems to mechanical systems to software and AI. If someone can explain quantum computing to me (in a way that I understand), I will buy you dinner. I love to build things and autonomous mechanical systems fascinate me. I have been taking Thoren & Maila to FIRST Robotics Competitions since they were toddlers and am thrilled to be involved with the Bananas!