From Orchard Park to Silicon Valley
Trevor Kearse, left, and Tarjote Chaggar in front of Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. where they both work. The pair are recent grads from Orchard Park Secondary School.
By Mark McNeil, Hamilton Spectator
It’s a long way to Silicon Valley from Stoney Creek.
But for three Orchard Park Secondary School graduates, it was a journey that began with an extracurricular activity.
Trevor Kearse, Tarjote Chaggar and Rahul Patel were part of the high school’s legendary robotics team in the years leading up to their graduation in 2010.
They slugged it out in their spare time working on yearly projects that involved designing and building robots that could perform specific tasks, such as navigating through an obstacle course, carrying objects or mounting walls.
They went to competitions and were part of the school’s incredible legacy of having won 22 consecutive regional awards in its nine-year history of competitions, and being recognized as one of the best robotics teams on the continent.
But more importantly, they say the experience opened their eyes to a world of engineering possibilities that led to dream jobs at two of the hottest new companies on the planet — Tesla and Google.
“I think a lot of the skills I learned working on the robotics team are directly transferable to what I do at my job,” said Patel, in a telephone interview from Palo Alto, Calif.
“At Orchard Park, I learned to work with a team of about 30 people toward a common goal, and it’s very much a team approach at Google.”
The trio also learned about long-term friendship along the way. Kearse and Chaggar have been close friends since the sixth grade. They both got to know Patel in Grade 9.
Each is 23 years old. Each was an enthusiastic participant in robotics competitions. Each graduated from Orchard Park to take the mechatronics program at the University of Waterloo.
They lived in the same house in Waterloo and graduated together in 2015. Then, one by one, they landed the jobs in California.
The first hired was Patel in May 2015. He works on Google’s Project Loon, an ambitious effort to spread the Internet into the Third World and remote areas with an aerial wireless network using high-altitude balloons.
Then Chaggar landed the Tesla job in July, working on software used in the powertrain systems of the company’s electric cars.
Kearse was hired in November at Tesla’s power electronics division, helping to develop its Powerpack and Powerwall technologies that store electricity for residential use.
HUNTER
Barry Gray,The Hamilton Spectator
Stan Hunter, who leads Orchard Park’s robotics team, in the room where they practice with their robots.
Stan Hunter, the Orchard Park teacher who runs the robotics program, says he is thrilled about the success of his three former students.
“I’m glad they are pursuing something they love at companies that are at the cutting edge,” said Hunter, who also teaches computer science at the school. “But we do miss having them around here as mentors.”
More than 90 former robotics team members have gone on to university education studies in science, technology, engineering or math, he said.
He got the idea of starting the team after attending a competition in 2005. “I loved the event, and I said, ‘this is what my students need.’
“It gives kids an opportunity to get involved in something that is not sports or academics. It is something they can grab a hold of and be a part of.”
Each year, about 35 students from all grades take part, with the goal to build two robots — one a prototype to practice on and the other for use in competitions.
They are currently working away with eyes set for the first major competition of the year, held March 10-12 at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Durham College in Oshawa.
It’s Rick Mercer on robots at Stoney Creek’s Orchard Park
The CBC’s Rick Mercer was in Stoney Creek today to learn a few things about robots.
Mercer and producers of the Rick Mercer Report heard about the robotics program at Orchard Park Secondary School — and the school’s impressive record at various competitions over the years — and they decided it would make for a great item for the show.
They shot video of students working on this year’s robot project and in March they will send a video crew to regional competitions in Toronto to see how well the Orchard Park students do.
Mercer said he was blown away by the school’s impressive record at previous competitions — where robot entries are expected to complete a series of tasks — and decided to take a hard look at the school and the world of high school robotics.
“Quite frankly, if you gave me a million dollars and all the resources in the world, I would not be able to build any of these things.” he said.
Stan Hunter, who runs the program that is an extracurricular activity for more than 35 students, said the competition is serious business and nothing is left to chance.
It’s so serious that no photographs are allowed of the robot being built. It’s all top secret.
“We like to hold our cards pretty close to our chest,” he said.
See a Hamilton Spectator video here.
Updated on Thursday, February 04, 2016.