What is Balam?

Balam to me is a safe haven from everything, my life, school, family, and all those things. There really aren´t a lot of places and groups that can really do that for me, especially at this point in my aging process. Many have questioned me for always sticking to it, my first season was at the lowest point of the team where there were no one but four juniors with little to no leadership. There is something about it, it may be the people around the project, maybe it’s the nature of the project, or maybe it’s what I can do with it that gets me to gravitate towards it.

As much as the project is focused on robotics, the essentials to its success is really interacting with everyone else on Balam, you are going to have to spend six weeks in a row with them from noon to 8 p.m. and there is nothing you can do about it, so they are what are going to make or break the experience for anybody. Luckily for everybody, we have some of the best people around each other and really make a family like environment around ourselves and the robot, there is no fun without us having each other. So I appreciate having the people we have on board.

FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is one of the toughest challenges that are out there for high schoolers to accomplish, and it is what Balam preaches. The nature of the organization is really living everything out for the robot, and getting the highest level of satisfaction whenever you see your time and part of you function properly and be competitive. The competition is the least part of it, but the means to get there is what really makes Balam worth it for me and recommendable to everyone who is considering to join us.

The results of the experience really goes a long way in the rest of my life, it makes itself an integral part of who you will be and will do for your adult life with everything behind you and all that is left Is a good memory of it. Everything about this, from the people you meet from being here to the feelings and confidence it resides on you after you form part of it, is something that nothing will do for you other than Balam, so yeah, Balam is really worth it.