This was a busy and very intense weekend for my family.
My daughter, who is in elementary school, delved into the field of robotics for the first time at the state robotics championship. For background, she has never built a robot or written much code. The process of building a robot, iterating on various designs, working with her team (all girls!), figuring out who does what, and competing in different leagues to qualify for the state championship was a big achievement.
Her amazing team worked hard, guided by amazing mentors and coaches. As a parent, I wanted them to do their best, and thought, for the first timers who had never done anything like this, coming this far was itself a win.
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Their robot, which was working until the night before the championship, suddenly had multiple mechanical issues. They had to deal with all these challenges in real time, fix them, and still go through the tournament. Frankly, I wondered if I were them, at which point, would I have given up? However, these girls kept going. Even though they didnāt progress to the next level, they finished the day in good spirits and cheered for the other teams who participated in the finals. I learnt a lot from these girls (who are not even 10) and all the participants for their focus and not being deterred even in the wake of multiple challenges. These girls, and many other teams, showed lot of grit as parents or coaches are not allowed to step in to help.
I want to wish good luck to all the kids who are going to world championship. For all the students who are embracing these competitions, the sheer act of taking on the robotics challenge and participating itself is a big win. Pursuing these opportunities with curiosity and passion is the best thing one can do to broaden their horizons and great things will follow!
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On the heels of this event, Iām sending a belated Happy International Womenās Day to these young competitors and to the women who are paving the way in these fields! I am inspired by all the amazing women around me at home (my wife and daughter), the women I get to work with at AWS, and the amazing leaders from other companies we work with. I continue to learn a lot from all of you across our industry.