Metamorphosis - the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form. Today, I played my very last game of high school basketball. As the final buzzer echoed through the gymnasium, I couldn't help but feel a wave of disbelief wash over me. Today was the last time I would stand on the free throw line taking one, two, three dribbles and shooting the ball. The last time I will high-five my teammates is when they knock down the wide-open three. The last time I will unlace my shoes in the locker room with all of my teammates around me. All of these small moments that once seemed ordinary are now forever golden memories. Although I have been a senior these past six months it never quite hit me until this moment that many of my last moments are soon approaching. In a few months, I won’t be able to eat lunch with my friends every day. I won’t be listening to Dr. Lowry crack the same joke every other week. As hard-hitting as it is, I realize that this is simply an opening to a new chapter in my life. Even though I may not see my friends as often, the memories of laughing while watching K-Dramas on weekends or late-night study sessions will remain forever engraved in my heart. Additionally, the jokes and lessons from my teachers will stay in my head, jumping out when a problem calls for them. Lastly, college brings opportunities for meeting new friends and professors forming new treasured connections and memories. Change is inevitable, but it is also a catalyst for growth and self-discovery. Just as a caterpillar must undergo metamorphosis to become a butterfly, so too must I embrace the changes that lie ahead and soar like a butterfly into the bright blue sky.

The scene outside the window quickly fades from flashing lights and darkness to a blue-gray sky filled with skyscrapers and metro tracks. In the distance carbon capture drones buzz while weather drones zip through the sky sending measurements back to the station. The year is 2048, a time when robots and humans live in a coexisting world. Dr. Maya Reyes is a lead scientist working on Project Harmony, a project using robots to reverse climate change. “Now approaching Madison and Green Avenue,” the announcer says over the metro’s PA system. Dr. Reyes grabs her lilac purple briefcase and waits for the electric hum of the electromagnets powering the metro to hush as the train car comes to a stop. Hopping off the metro Dr. Reyes hurries across the white tiled floor of the station towards the south side where the city buses are located. After successfully boarding bus E, Dr. Reyes arrives shortly at the Project Harmony Lab. “1/4/2048 Weekly Progress Meeting,” the display screen reads. All the subgroup managers sat around the mahogany table taking sips of freshly brewed coffee. “Alright Thomas why don’t you get us started with the atmospheric unit,” Dr. Reyes says. Dr. Bewaker clears his throat before he announces that in this past week, the carbon capture drones were able to harvest 8324 kg of carbon dioxide. “Two drones needed to have repairs made, but the flock is in good shape” Dr. Bewaker states. Dr. Reyes and the rest of the managers congratulate him before Dr. Mer Voogd stands up and begins her report. “Poseidon was able to collect 1.2 tons of plastic and trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch last week and we have sent this to the materials department to be processed into bricks and other materials!” Dr. Voogd says with enthusiasm. The group applauds her as Dr. Arbre Shu rises. She begins with her statistics - 20,000 trees planted according to Harmony’s species advice - and ends with a joke about how she fell face first while surveying the land. Finally, they move to Agriculture which is headed by Dr. Persephoney Hardy. She gives her positive updates (4300 new crops sprouted and 400 lbs of produce harvested) and her negative (a bout of aphids). “Okay. Thank you everyone for your updates let’s check in with Harmony to see if they have any advice.” Dr. Reyes says while turning towards the interface where Harmony is housed. “Thank you Dr. Reyes for asking! I have listened to all of your updates and looked at the data reports from this week along with the weather data from the drones. First of all, it appears that the Franklin City humidity has been getting low and the temperature has been getting high. Persephoney, I suggest you increase the water target even higher on your autonomous sprinklers to combat this. Second, Harnett City has been seeing rising concentrations of methane in the atmosphere. Thomas, I suggest you tweak the path of your-” Before the poor chatbot could finish its sentence alarms started blaring throughout the building. “EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY,” the alarms screeched. A news message flashed across Harmony’s display, “Two weather drones misaligned and heading into traffic!” Quickly and swiftly, Dr. Reyes grabs her olive trench coat and flies down the stairs with her crew behind her. She climbs into an electric van and drives to the control station building. After unlocking the door and access pass she heads to the control room where a dashboard of controls sits in front of her. Quickly she scans the screens searching for the camera feeds matching a path of traffic. Bingo! Drone 6 and 14 are headed straight towards the highway. Promptly she finds their control and disables their flying, rendering them powerless. With a breath of relief, she sends two carrier drones to bring them back to the lab. Once the drones arrive back at the lab Dr. Reyes sends them with Ms. Lonfy to have their software and flight tracking re-evaluated. Harmony concludes that there could have been a camera mishap or damaged gyroscope that resulted in this incident. Nevertheless, relieved that the crisis was averted Dr. Reyes heads into her office to decompress. From her window overlooking the city below Dr. Reyes sees drones flying out and about, children playing in the park, buses traveling across the highways, and a pair of doves gliding above the trees. She turns and spots the framed picture on her wall. In it is a picture of a Spiderman leaping from building to building and under the picture are the words, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Authors note: I joined robotics without prior experience, yet the robotics community took me in with open arms. More experienced team members helped less experienced members find resources and instruction, and team mentors shared their expertise in building robots and managing teams. Through a year on the team, I learned how to name almost every single part of the robot, program a Mecanum drive, and use CAD to turn the wildest of imaginations into a tangible 3D print. This summer, I discovered the interdisciplinary nature of robotics when I interned at a lab using robotics to automate high-throughput screening for solar cell materials. Until I discovered the lab, I had never expected to see servos, motors, and Arduinos in the same setting as solutions, chemicals, and solar cells. Robotics pushes the boundaries of solar cell research by allowing for research to be done in a more controlled and efficient manner. Lastly, I have always been passionate about climate change. After my last interdisciplinary experience with robotics, I realized its potential applications for the environment. I wanted to use this story to convey my enriching experience with robotics and my hopes for its future applications to the environment while also leaving some advice on how to proceed.