MISSION STATEMENT

As FTC team 8535, our mission is to introduce younger kids into robotics and STEM, and create a new, STEM-loving generation to improve and explore the world.

INDIVIDUAL BIO’s

Our group consists of a group of high schools students from the Fairfax country community. Individual interest are alisted below:

Hello. My name is Anika Natarajan. I am in 8th and attend Herndon Middle School. This is my first time being part of FIRST and I am enjoying it! I am part of the build team! In my spare time,  I  love to draw landscapes  and  painting,  channeling my inner creativity.

Hi! I’m Alina Ampeh and I'm a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. I got involved with FIRST over this past summer where I mentored at FLL camps, and through that experience I decided to join a FTC team. I am on the build team and programming team, and also love to help the outreach team coordinate event. Outside of FIRST, I enjoy playing as the goalie for my school’s lacrosse team, and training my pets.

Hello. My name is Arthur Haneline and I am a Freshman at Herndon High School. I have been participating in FTC for three years and love it. I am the build captain and also part of the outreach team.  Beyond FTC, i am involved in marching band and enjoy reading!

Hello there! My name is Akshan Sameullah, and I am currently in 9th grade at Thomas Jefferson High School. I have a strong interest in Artificial Intelligence, space, and robotics. All of those things come together in the 2018-2019 FIRST Tech Challenge. I first joined FTC Team 8535 in 8th grade shortly after I volunteered at the Inaugural FIRST Global Challenge in Washington D.C. as a Team ambassador for Team Asia. I became great friends with the Teams there! I am very excited to be programming this year's robot, but also make sure I stay well-rounded by helping with the Outreach and Hardware teams. This is my passion, and I am looking forward to a great Season. Good Luck Teams!

Hi. My name is Aakash Natarajan. I am in 8th grade and attend Herndon Middle School. This is my first year in FTC and love it very much!  In my spare time , I focus on basketball and football. I also love to read!

Hello. My name is Shayoan Fadaghi. I am a junior that goes to Pootmac Falls high school. This is my first time participating in FTC. I love being part of the build team because I get to  brainstorm innovative ideas to help build an amazing robot! Outside of FTC, I LOVE  to play video games and hangout with my school friends. 

Hi there, I am Maria Tellez Casildo. I am a Freshman at Herndon High School. This is my third year of FTC. I am apart of the Engineering Notebook team, as well as the Outreach team, but I also help with the mechanical team. Apart from my passion with robotics, I am also passionate about art, eating, and soccer.

WHAT WE DO

FTC definition - FTC stands for FIRST tech challenge, it is a competition where you build, design, and program a robot to overcome challenges and play against other team’s robots. The competitors are middle and high school-aged students. Teams of middle and high school-aged