ABOUT ME

“With hard work, perseverance, and self-belief, there is no limit to what you can achieve.”

– Roy T. Bennett

Hi there! My name is Michael Cook. I am a high school senior who is passionate about robotics and engineering. Just as my father and older sister have, I wish to follow in their footsteps and pursue an engineering career.

Ever since I was little, I have always been fascinated with the world around me. I would try to take things apart to see how they worked. I was a natural engineer. My curiosity and tinkering grew over the years. I enjoy taking on new challenges, whether building a new robot for the FIRST competition, working on a new personal project, volunteering or mentoring youth, working with dogs, hiking, exercising at the gym, or learning a new figure skating element. I am always open to new adventures, whether academic or community service-related, that allow me to grow and learn new skills.

My expertise includes designing, building, wiring, and fine-tuning FRC robots, as well as using CAD tools to develop practical solutions.

 I look forward to starting my next chapter in life, continuing to build my skills and experience, and possibly developing new technologies to solve real-world problems. I can’t think of anywhere better to do so than dear old Rose!

 

Robotics

An early journey

At age eight, I successfully participated in the Moonbots, an International Robotics Competition sponsored by the Google Lunar XPRIZE challenge. As the youngest member of the team, I learned new skills and discovered that I was fond of idea generation, design, prototyping, and building. I have been involved with robotics ever since, whether as my team’s co-captain, lead robot designer and builder, or a community outreach champion and mentor for younger students.

I invite you to visit my project page to learn about my robotics journey.

Mentorship

Leading by example and encouraging others to follow their dreams

For the past 8 years, I have been sharing my technical knowledge and expertise in mechanical systems, from basic tool use to advanced robot-building techniques.

My mentorship journey has been an exciting one, starting with teaching and sharing what I know during summer camps at my local Boys & Girls Clubs, and through community outreach events that my FIRST Robotics teams and I have participated in.

 A skill I take great pride in is my ability to explain hard-to-grasp concepts and systems clearly and easily in sizable chunks that anyone, regardless of their technical expertise, can understand. This brings me great satisfaction to know I have made a positive change in somebody’s life.

Volunteering

Helping a community one step at a time

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said that the essence of life is “to serve others and do good”. I genuinely believe in the importance of service work for people in need and for the community, whether local or broader.

For the last seven years, I have been volunteering my time (500+ hours) for several nonprofit organizations, including FIRST, Optimist International, local Boys & Girls Clubs, Cybertronics and Gateway Robotics Clubs, the University of Central Florida, and others. Please visit my volunteering page to see highlights of my community service.

 

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