Hillcrest grad has built a robot and hopes to work at NASA

AMMON — Elijah Olsen recently graduated from Hillcrest High School and is headed to Utah State University to study mechanical engineering.

The 18-year-old played clarinet in the marching band and likes making music, too. He took second place at the state solo and ensemble contest playing the clarinet.

“I enjoy marching band music. It’s a lot of work to get coordinated, but when you finally do and work together, it’s just a really cool experience,” he said.

He additionally was on the debate team, which he has been involved in for several years.

“I was debate captain this year, and last year I qualified to go to the national competition so that was fun,” Elijah said. “I have always been interested in debate. I made a debate club at my junior high school and then I joined the debate team at my old school my freshman year.”

He moved from Bakersfield, California, last year to Idaho. He said when he joined the debate team at Hillcrest High School, it seemed like a good way to make friends, work on public speaking and gain confidence.

Elijah added he has enjoyed the opportunities he has been given in Idaho.

“Different kind of environment for competitions but I have enjoyed it. I found a lot more opportunities for leadership here as well,” he said.

Elijah has been on a robotics team through First Robotics. He built a robot with Team 1566 “Ammo Knights.”

“We built a robot that its objective was to pick up cubes and cones and put them in specific spots. It’s kind of like a sports competition but with robots,” Elijah said. “It weighed over 100 pounds and was about four feet tall.”

He said it was a really cool opportunity, especially since he got to learn more about engineering.

Last summer, Elijah had the opportunity to attend a space camp that took place at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California and Boise State University.

“We planned a fake mission to Mars and then we actually got to tour JPL. That was really inspiring to see all the really cool stuff they had that they are working on there and I just thought that I want to be there and work there one day,” Elijah said.

Elijah will be studying at Utah State University, where he plans to major in mechanical engineering. He was able to get a Dean’s Scholarship which will cover two years of tuition, he said. He also received the National Merit Scholarship.

“I am hoping to get a job in the astronautical industry, like at NASA or some space company. That would be the dream to work at JPL or something like that and contribute to projects there,” he said. “I have always been interested in space.”