Strives for success all while letting his passions lead the way

Isaac Sydow

Parents: Lori and Kelly Sydow

Town: Elk River

List the activities you have participated in and tell of your proudest accomplishments:

I’ve done tennis since 7th grade. I’ve played on varsity for 4 years and I am a captain this year. I really enjoy playing and it’s taught me a lot of emotional control and has definitely shaped me as a person for the better. I have also been on the Robotics team for 5 years and have been a captain for 4 years. I’m proudest of rebuilding the robotics team after COVID. I take pride in pushing people to be the best they can and passing on knowledge to younger team members. I have also participated in math team and Jazz band for two years each. I am also in the high school Wind Symphony as first chair tenor saxophone.

What is your favorite class and why? What is your favorite subject?

My favorite class is manufacturing because it’s a fun place where I can take a break from schoolwork and pursue something that I love. I am always looking for an excuse to get into the shop and to use the machines, even staying after school to learn and progress through projects faster. My favorite subject is math, specifically calculus. I have already seen real world impacts of this level of math. I have already used many things that I have learned in the class in robotics and other projects outside of school. I love the challenge that the rapid pace of the program provides.

What are your future plans?

I plan to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Engineering major. I hope to find an career in the aerospace industry.

What are your hobbies and/or personal interests?

I have quite a few personal interests all over the place. Robotics and engineering have led me to enjoy manufacturing and welding. I can work manual machines and CNC machines, as well as being able to TIG and MIG weld, most commonly working on my truck. I love fixing vehicles such as my 94 F-150 or my 86 Fiero. I also enjoy 3d printing and CAD. The combination of the two allow me to bring ideas into reality and explore whatever I can think of. I have put a lot of time into modifying my 3d printer over the last few years. I also like flying/racing drones and fly both in a competitive sim against other players and freestyle around my yard. Programming is another one of my interests and I can program relatively well in Java as this is the language we use in Robotics. I have also used programming to create multiple Arduino projects over the years. I have also been very interested in rocketry and have been designing and slowly building my own rocket engine over the last year. I also enjoy scuba diving and sailing when I can.

Tell of a most memorable experience that relates to school, personal interests or a hobby.

One of my most memorable moments was when I was sailing with my robotics friends and of course we have the brilliant idea of purposefully capsizing the boat just to figure out how hard it would be to recover. As we tried to recover it we could barely get the boat past a 45 degree angle by hanging off the keel, so I ended up having to swim down and grab parts of the rigging to loop my life jacket around it. After wrapping up the sails and drifting about halfway across the lake, we managed to right the boat, absolutely thrilled with our achievement. Until we realized we lost the rudder in the process.

How do you demonstrate leadership?

I consider myself to be a valuable leader on the robotics team. I greatly enjoy mentoring my team members and passing along my knowledge. I think I’m great at pushing people to be their best and recognizing accomplishments along the way. I think that striving to reach my own goals and encouraging others towards theirs makes me a strong leader. In robotics I have always been the one who has learned the skills before everyone else and therefore I am the one who will teach people how to operate all the machines, how the program, how to work the 3d printer, etc.

How do you approach academics to achieve success?

I view academics as a gateway towards success, not the focus. I strive to be successful academically but I believe that my passions will take me the rest of the way through life. I usually do enough work to get an A, but whenever I have free time I am always working on my next project, the next improvement to the robot, or learning a new skill.

What special projects have you done, in or out of school?

Most of my time working on projects outside of school is related to my vehicles. They both need a lot of work and I have learned an amazing amount with the hands on experience of fixing them. Currently I am very slowly getting better at bodywork as I repair and replace rust on my truck. In manufacturing I am exploring making a small rotary engine that is air powered to explore the uses and design decisions that go into rotary engines. In the past I have made quite a few cool projects, my most recent large one being a decorative saxophone stand. It was my first time doing woodworking and staining for one of my own projects and that was fun to learn. I have made a couple other decorative pieces such as a small tree sculpture made out of metal and an abstract art piece made out of scrap metal. I enjoy making art pieces, it’s a way to explore something I don’t do often. As mentioned before I am working on making my own rocket engine right now and that has been a very large project that I am slowly progressing through on the side. I have done all of the design work and calculations and only just started manufacturing, so far it is progressing well.

Why do you think you won this award?

I believe that I won this award because of the broad impact that I have been able to have on others. Through the various activities I am involved in I try to always be the best that I can and to help others as much as I can. I try to spread the message that anything can be learned with enough effort and time. While not perfect, hopefully I also can display my progress as an example.

What does it mean to you?

I am glad that I am being recognized and this award shows me how important my role is to others. I am proud to be in the positions that I am in and very thankful to everyone around me who helped me get there.