Taqia Heryadi earns Robotics Dean’s List honor

Taqia Heryadi, a sophomore at Penn, was named to the FIRST Robotics Dean’s List and is one of three students to represent Indiana at the Robotics World Championships in St. Louis on April 26-30.

The Dean’s List recognizes the leadership and dedication of FIRST’s most outstanding FIRST Tech Challenge students. Since its introduction in 2010, the FIRST Dean’s List Award has attracted the attention of prestigious colleges and universities who desire to recruit FIRST Dean’s List students. 

“Kia is a wonderful example of a student that embodies all that FIRST stands for,” Penn Robotics instructor Jim Langfeldt said. “In my 20 years of coaching robotics, I have not seen a better example of a team member putting the needs and interests of her team ahead of her own.  Kia brings happiness and joy to everything and everyone she surrounds.”

Langfeldt said that Heryadi plays an essential role on her FIRST Tech Challenge team.

“She is a natural leader, and steers the direction of her team,” Langfeldt said. “She leads the organization of the  engineering notebook, team outreach projects, and fundraising efforts. Taqia is very friendly and helps bridge the gap between the highly technical members and the outreach focused teammates. She is very well rounded and her communication skills are what set her apart from your typical FTC student.”