Leading with Data: Manogna Basavesh

Who is Manogna Basavesh?

Manogna is a junior at Northview High School and joined the fabrication sub-team in freshman year. In addition to fabrication, he is an Impact team presenter, co-leads the Sponsorship Pitch team, and is our current Strategy Lead. Other than robotics, he volunteers to teach students and is a proud Eagle Scout.

What does Strategy Do?

Strategy is a cross-functional sub-team, meaning students can be members of Strategy and another sub-team simultaneously. To join the sub-team, the application process consists of a student’s character, prior strategy experience, and level of dedication. Members analyze scouting data of teams to determine the best strategies for matches, helping us win matches and competitions. They also evaluate risks, manage logistics, and plan match decisions. On the last day of competition, they group for a session, deciding on potential alliance partners.

Q&A 

Q1: What got you interested in joining robotics? 

“I remember in middle school, the Techno Titans came to showcase Kronos, a robot, and I was like, ‘I really want to do this when I get in high school.’ And a lot of people I knew were also joining our team, so it got me interested in joining.”

Q2: What got you interested in joining Strategy? 

“I joined Strategy in my sophomore year because during my freshman year Worlds competition, I heard a lot of stuff about our general match strategies and people complaining, and I wanted to know what was happening. So, I applied and got accepted, and now I’m the lead.”

Q3: How would you describe your leadership role to someone not in robotics? 

“I take all the data I can get about other teams competing with us and use that to determine what we want to do during the actual match and competition. My responsibility as Strategy Lead is to gather information and organize it into a system our team can use. I also communicate with people like Mr. DeLuca, the main strategy mentor, by creating and running through plans with him so he can cross-check what I have in mind. This helps me make sure I am not messing up since another person went through my plan and found no errors. And it also tells the mentors what the plan is and why we are doing it.”

Q4: What personal goals do you want to achieve this season? 

“I want to learn about technical stuff and design - OnShape to help CAD our robot next year and understand what goes into designing the robot rather than just knowing what it can do on the field.”

Q5: What goals for Strategy do you want to achieve this season? 

“I want to build an efficient system where everyone has access to data at any time to make good decisions as a team, so we don’t end up second-guessing.”

Q6: How do you balance being on the Fabrication sub-team while also leading Strategy? 

“Most of the stuff I do outside of competition is for fabrication, so every time I am at the workspace helping the team, it’s fabrication work. But once in competition, that changes. My shift focuses on strategy and competitions, creating match strategies, pit scouting, etc. So basically, I work on strategy during competitions and then fabrication while at the workspace.”

Manogna's role as Strategy Lead includes making decisions that guide the team during competition to win. He contributes to an abundance of roles, balancing fabrication with strategic planning during competitions. His effort on the team is greatly appreciated, and we are excited to see it used at competition!