Dean's List Essay: Zachary Collins

Zach Collins has quickly established himself as a leader on Team Combustion. Although he has been a part of the Northshore High School robots team for only two years, he has already become an invaluable part of this successful team. In that short span he has assumed a significant leadership role within the team and has earned the respect of teachers, mentors and his fellow students alike. In 2010, during his freshman year, Zach was a member of the challenge team, and within a short time showed a knack for not only understanding the technical side of the robot, but also displayed budding leadership skills. His hard work, inquisitive nature and pension for solving complex problems to make the robot more effective and efficient, benefitted the team immensely. His quiet but assertive nature assisted the challenge team throughout the build season. His enthusiasm and teamwork while at the Alario Center for the Bayou Regional as well as at the Georgia Dome for the national championships was notable. This year, as just a sophomore, Zach was voted in as the Challenge Team Captain. Normally on Team Combustion, team captains are juniors and seniors who have had significant build experience under their belt. Zach, however, has shown that he has what it takes to be the leader of this important group. With two distinct parts of this year's competition, the importance of this challenge team is more critical than ever. But Zach was up to the task. He quickly demonstrated the ability to grasp the fundamentals of building a robot, starting with learning to design the challenge portion of this year's robot on Autocad. The computer modeling of the intricate parts of this year's robot was vital to the team's success so as not to build via trial and error. He spent countless hours on the computer working drawings for hinges, motor housings and minibot mechanisms. Once satisfied that the design was sound, Zach set off on dividing his team into two distinct groups to take the robot from the computer to reality: one team for building the arm to hang logo pieces on the scoring peg, and one team to build the minibot to climb the tower.

Zach's contributions are not limited solely to his leadership of the challenge team. He is a staunch support of numerous off-season Team Combustion activities, and has volunteered countless hours at robot demos at area schools to promoting science and math fundamentals to school age children. He has also volunteered with Team Combustion at 4th of July celebrations and at numerous sponsor briefings to capture corporate sponsorships. Zach also recently marched with the Team Combustion robot in a Mardi Gras parade with the Krewe of Slidellians, showcasing the robotics team in front of over 15,000 people. Zach is not only a dedicated Team Combustion member, but he is an active participant in numerous other school and community activities. He is a member of the Northshore High School football team, a member of the powerlifting club, a member of the BETA club, and has participating the quiz bowl competition team. He is a fantastic student as well, and currently holds a 3.6 GPA.

Zach Collins is a self starter when it comes to robotics, but Northshore High School robotics is a family affair for the Collins family. His father, Greg, is a key mentor for the team and his older brother, Chris, is the current team president.

The positive influence that Zach has had with FIRST robotics has influenced his decision on choosing a major for college. He is interested in pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University or Georgia Tech. Zach's technical expertise, coupled with his growing leadership skills, have firmly entrenched Zach as the cornerstone of Team Combustion. His previous successes as well as his future endeavors have been shaped in large part to his involvement with FIRST Robotics. Zach Collins is most deserving as a Dean's List Recipient for 2011.