What was once a fun diversion for Clayton Harding turned him onto what he believes will be his future career path.
Harding, who was senior captain of the Destrehan High School’s robotics team, helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back appearances at the FIRST Robotics World Championship competition in St. Louis, Mo. — his team, in fact, became the first team in state history to qualify for that event in back-to-back years. His work with the team inspired him to pursue a degree in engineering at Louisiana Tech University, his first semester beginning this fall.
When he began his run with the robotics squad as a freshman, Harding admitted that while he enjoyed the fun times and camaraderie of being part of a team, his interest in the actual building and operating of the robot was fleeting. At the time, he said he just wanted to find something be a part of.
“I was more or less a shadow on the wall,” Harding said. “I was just kind of there, not too heavy into the building process. I was the mascot.”
That changed once he saw live competition.
“You know, I got there and I see all of these other robots, picking up Frisbees and they’re disappearing and shooting out other side,” Harding said. “It was really cool and that got me into it.”
He started to throw his efforts into robotics.
“I really got heavily into it,” Harding said. “What I really enjoy about it is, we put so much time into something and you start seeing what’s created, you start seeing the results … so when we go to compete and we’re beating most of the teams, it really feels good.”
His efforts were recognized. This past season, Harding earned status as team captain and lead fabricator, giving him the most hands on building experience he’s ever had. He helped lead the team to the finals of the Arkansas Rock City Regional and the semifinals at the Bayou Regional this season.
“We didn’t lose by much,” Harding said of the Arkansas regional. “And that was to a team that could have potentially won the world championship this year. At the Bayou Regional, we were definitely, I felt, one of the top three in terms of performance. We actually had some bad luck this year that maybe held us back from doing even better.
“But it was a lot of fun. I wouldn’t change or trade it for anything.”
As captain, he said the most important element was keeping everyone focused on the goals ahead during the six week building season, including himself.
“I’m the kind of person who feels like you can’t just settle or be satisfied with what you have,” Harding said. “You can always make it better, add things … even still, there were times where I got aggravated and wanted to leave, take a break, because between work, school and robotics it can be exhausting. But I’m glad I didn’t because it was really worth it.”
He said he and his teammates formed a tight bond and that graduation is bittersweet, given that the team members are going their separate ways.
“I’m friends with a lot of people here (at DHS), but my real true friends are the ones I’ve spent the last two to three years with here in robotics,” he said. “One is moving to Georgia two days after we graduate. Others are juniors and will still be here. And two others are headed to ULL, LSU and I’m off to Ruston. So everyone’s had to say goodbye.”
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