about us

about first & ftc

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international organization dedicated to sparking curiosity and innovation in young people through robotics. Its FTC program, or FIRST Tech Challenge, provides middle and high school students the opportunity to design, build, and program robots to solve real-world challenges in a competitive yet collaborative environment. FTC emphasizes teamwork, creativity, and the engineering design process, encouraging students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills while working with advanced technologies. Teams not only compete but also share ideas and reach out to their communities to promote STEM education. Through mentorship, outreach events, and gracious professionalism, FTC cultivates leadership and collaboration among students of all backgrounds.

our story

Our team was founded in 2007 by a group of girls passionate about computer science and engineering. We carry on their legacy to this day by inspiring girls in our community to get involved in STEM. All of our team members are students at Mission San Jose High School Irvington High School in Fremont, California. Our team has won several awards over its seventeen years of activity, continuously designing, building, and inspiring. We are proud to be ambassadors of FIRST in our area where we not only recruit members for our team, but also work  together with other local FLL, FTC, and FRC teams to inspire young minds to learn more about robotics. ​

our mission

Our goal is to create an environment where girls can learn and express their ideas in the male-dominated fields of computer science and engineering. Our team believes that girls should be placed in the center stage where they can make a difference in the real world and play an important role on a team. We make it a priority to encourage and support girls who show an interest in robotics. We promote cooperation rather than competition among all team members, creating a positive learning environment. And through doing what we love, we hope we can inspire other girls to pursue robotics and follow their dreams.

meet the team

Our team consists of 11 students from Mission San Jose High School and Irvington High School in Fremont, California. 

Shivani Palanikumar

Co-Captain / Software
Shivani is a senior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 5 years. 

Arushi Mullick

Co-Captain / Hardware
Arushi is a senior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 2 years. 

Dhaeshna Booma

Outreach / Hardware
Dhaeshna is a senior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 4 years.

Shrijani Hongal

Hardware
Shrijani is a sophomore at MSJHS who has been on the team for 2 years.

Diana Wang

Hardware
Diana is a senior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 1 year. 

Jaylyn Wong

Hardware / Software
Jaylyn is a senior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 1 year. 

Simran Chhabria

Software
Simran is a junior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 2 years. 

Saanvi Shah

Outreach
Saanvi is a junior at MSJHS who has been on the team for 2 years. 

Prisha Choudhary

Hardware
Prisha is a sophomore at MSJHS who just joined the team. 

Saanvi Bachamada

Hardware
Saanvi is a sophomore at MSJHS who just joined the team. 

Katelyn Thilak

Hardware
Katelyn is a freshman at Irvington HS who just joined the team. 

© FTC Team 596 Spectrebots 2025

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