Over the summer of 2024, Cheryl Li, current Camas High School (CHS) senior and Magnet (MST) member, conducted a 141.5 hour research project where she learned how to build a robot that was voice interactive and bluetooth communicative.
Li had the opportunity to travel overseas to Tianjin Chengjian University in Tianjin, China and work under her mentor, Professor Yang Guoqing.
“Professor Yang Guoqing is pretty well known at his university for mentoring students to create passion projects related to engineering,” Li said.
Once Li arrived in China, their project was put into action. Here she was able to not only learn how to build a robot, but also gain knowledge on different factors of technology.
“The overall goal for me was just to design a robot. This part went according to plan pretty well and in the time frame I had, I actually ended up with extra time. That meant that I got to learn more things with my extra time in the lab. I ended up learning about image detection using AI models and how to even train my own model,” Li said.
Through this experience, Li claims to have learned a lot, as she knew very little about robotics going into the project. She now feels comfortable in topics such as different sensors, programming in C, drawing a printed circuit board, and soldering. She will even take this new knowledge with her into her years post high school.
“I’m planning to attend the University of Washington for computer science. Although my major is more software focused, I do hope to continue nurturing my passion for engineering through joining clubs like Husky Robotics or Husky Adapt,” Li said.
The MST program at CHS is what allowed Li to discover this opportunity. MST allowed her to discover her passion for research and gave her a community of people she felt comfortable in.
“I think the research experiences of MST really pushed me to grow and take risks to try new things,” Li said.
Li’s peers admire her work ethic and responsibility. According to other MST members, Li is a standout member of the program. .
“[Li] is an inspiring classmate who is always ahead of schedule. You can count on her if you need help,” Alex McNutt, CHS senior and MST member, said.
“Her confidence has grown greatly. Her ability to do things has grown just because of experience. Her heart has always been the same. Her love of learning, compassion for people and respect hasn’t changed,” Brianna Abraham, MST teacher and coordinator, said.
As Li graduates from CHS, her dedication to and passion for the work she does will continue to inspire those around her.
