Levi Bisonn – Behind the Steering Wheel of Life

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By Tali Haller

SCJ Alliance logoLevi Bisonn is the epitome of someone who’s never grown up – meant, of course, in the best way possible. At the age of 18 and currently a senior at Olympia High School, Levi stills exudes a kid-like curiosity and desire to learn that can be easily lost by high school. He’s a student who excels academically, while taking Honors and AP courses (the list includes AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Physics, AP English, and a host of others), participates in athletics, and fills up his schedule with a myriad of extracurricular activities. However, his ridiculously full schedule was not created to impress others or build up the college resume (well, maybe a little bit), but it evolved from his infinite curiosity and genuine desire to learn and solve problems.

levi bisonn
Aside from engineering, Levi Bisonn is also interested in graphic design.

His compulsion for doing things started early on. “I’ve always loved making stuff and doing big projects,” said Levi. For example, in elementary school, he was “super into Legos” and wanted to build his own unique Lego creations. After some research, he ordered silicon molds and did just that. In middle school, he also remembers making a crossbow that could shoot over 200 yards (we’re talking two football fields here) – pretty impressive for a pre-teen.

However, just because he’s always been busy doesn’t mean school has always been a priority. “I went to Lincoln Elementary School and they didn’t have a grading system so I never really tried. Then I got to middle school and ended up getting D’s and F’s my first semester. That was super motivating to me. I knew I never wanted to disappoint myself like that again so I started paying attention and studying,” he explained. After that first semester slip, it was all A’s for Levi until the harder high school courses roughened the road.  Still, he stays mostly on track.

“Once I got into high school, I realized how much more I could do with ‘me,’” Levi said. Freshman and sophomore year, he participated in the school’s Cross Country Team. Then, during sophomore year, Levi found what would become one of his main passions: robotics, the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science that deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of programmable machines that can perform tasks (i.e. robots).

levi bisonn
Levi stays active by running, participating in cross country during his freshman and sophomore years.

“The idea of being able to build whatever I wanted when I wanted grabbed my attention,” emphasized Levi. Started by Jill Shah in 2012 (Levi’s sophomore year), the ‘Oly Cow Robotics Team has already had huge successes.

“During my first year, which was also the club’s first year, we ended up coming in second at state,” Levi told me. “This past year, our second year, we did a lot better, placing 8th at Worlds out of over 3300 teams, most of which had really high budgets and were sponsored by Intel and Boeing. Considering we only spent $60 the first year and $500 this last year, we did amazingly well,” said Levi, who’s currently co-President of the robotics team alongside Ian Culhane.

Levi has two main roles on the team. First, he acts as one of the primary engineers. “I tend to be the conceptual person,” he said. His other role is being the “main talker.” He does a lot of actual communication along with creating many of their marketing materials, using graphic design, a skill he learned through a summer course at New Market Skills Center.

Levi is now applying his engineering and leadership skills to make a profit. For years now, two or three Olympia High School students have taken it upon themselves to host non-school-related dances, charging everyone who enters $5 to $7 depending on the dance venue. Each year, the current hosts pass down the responsibility to upcoming juniors or seniors.  This year, Levi, along with two other seniors, is part of the dance crew.

Ambitious as ever, Levi hopes to make his mark by hosting some of the best dances yet. When asked, “What are you planning on doing to up the excitement,” Levi was brimming with ideas, all of which are already in motion. “First off, we have an awesome DJ. Some of the music last year just wasn’t that great for dancing and we want to make sure that every song this year brings people out onto the dance floor,” he said. “We’ve also just bought an insane speaker system.”

oly cow robotics
Levi and the ‘Oly Cow Robotics Team came in 8th at Worlds this year out of over 3300 teams.

But even more impressive is the light stand that Levi constructed (talk about engineering in action). “I looked at the way speaker stands are made – a big metal pipe with three pipes on the side and a ring that slides down the center for adjustable height. The problem is that they’re so expensive (typically around $100). I took the idea and made my own for $40 each. They’re not heavy-duty enough to hold speakers but they’ll easily hold up lights and a fog machine (also new this year),” Levi explained.

While the dances have a cover charge, most of the revenue goes into paying for the venue and buying equipment. Additional compensation comes in the form of fun and the marketable skills they’re gaining: leadership, event planning, and, in Levi’s case, engineering experience.

On top of it all, Levi is in the middle of making some big decisions: what to do next year after graduation? Already, this year’s high school seniors are pinpointing possible colleges and completing applications. “Right now, I’m looking at University of California – Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, University of Washington, and University of British Columbia. I’m looking at bigger schools because I want a large social aspect. But I also want a small, top-notch engineering program,” he explained.

Levi plans to major in mechanical engineering with a focus on robotics, additionally obtaining a minor in electrical engineering or computer science and a minor in engineering management. “Having a degree like that will put me a position where I can have authority at an engineering firm. I don’t want to just be the person making things. I want to be the person behind the steering wheel,” said Levi.

Already on the road to success with his hunger for knowledge, growth, and creation, Levi’s dreams may one day become reality. “I want to change the world, to be the one causing the change, not just helping it,” he summarized with resolution.

 

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