My name is Ishan Kasam, and I am a student at the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI, with my sending school being King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, MA, where I have lived since 2020. I live with my parents and younger sister. My academic interests center around robotics, technology, and sciences. Outside of academics, I enjoy athletics, media, and recreational activities.
I value staying active and engaged both physically and intellectually. At my sending school, King Philip Regional High School, I competed in cross-country and track as both a distance runner and sprinter, experiences that strengthened my perseverance and time management skills, but I have stopped that due to schedule overlap with MAMS. At my sending school, I was also an active member of the Model UN club, where I competed at various Model UN conferences such as the Boston University MUN, and I was also a varsity member of the school math team. More recently, I have developed an interest in weight training, which has been fun and rewarding. In addition to athletics, I enjoy exploring technology through robotics and engineering, and I occasionally unwind by playing video games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and Clash Royale. These activities provide relaxation and strengthen my problem-solving skills and creativity. I also enjoy watching basketball and football; my favorite team is the Boston Celtics, and my favorite player has to be LeBron James. I have also been a Patriots fan for my whole life, and I enjoyed rooting for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick during their prime.
I have been involved in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) since eighth grade, beginning with Team 2079, ALARM Robotics, where I later served as co-leader of the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) sector. Through this role, I learned CAD and CAM using OnShape and Fusion360, along with hands-on skills in 3D printing, machining, electrical wiring, and manufacturing. FRC also emphasized communication, collaboration, and leadership. These experiences strengthened both my technical abilities and my ability to work effectively in a goal-oriented community. This was a truly rewarding experience overall as I not only grew as a person, but I became a part of a close community and made life-long connections. At MAMS, I will continue to do FRC on team 190 (Gompeii and the Herd), where I hope to continue to learn, grow, and build.
I value opportunities to share STEM with younger students through mentoring and outreach. I am the co-founder and director of STEM4Ward, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that expands access to STEM education for students from elementary through high school. We offer free courses, workshops, competitions, and internships that let high school students step into teaching and leadership roles. STEM4Ward has run a ten-week CAD workshop, an online CAD competition with a 3D printer prize, and multiple future courses in Scratch, Python, and CAD. Being a part of this group has given me experience in program design, project management, and team collaboration, and it was also very enjoyable and rewarding. I also like to mentor and volunteer at African Community Education (ACE) in Worcester, MA. At ACE, I mentor students ages 8-18 in robotics and engineering. I guided the middle school Zero Robotics team, a NASA-MIT-ISS competition where students code robots for simulated and real space missions, and ACE's team placed second nationally which was great for the kids. Next, I will mentor ACE's VEX V5 robotics team, supporting them in design, fabrication, and electrical systems. These experiences have been very fun and rewarding, and it feels great to enjoy while also helping people.
