2025 Ambassadors
We are thrilled to announce our new 2025 ROAR Ambassadors: Sid Arutla, Melinda Kuo, Altair Lee, Mikhil Kiran, Alex Lin, and Yuehan (John) Yue. Yuehan and Alex will comprise of one team from Walnut High School. They will integrate closely with our ROAR faculty, graduate students, and research teams to bring the ROAR experience to their respective high schools with our technical and financial support.
Siddharth Arutla
Sid Arutla is a junior at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. He attended the 2024 ROAR Academy and placed fifth in the Summer 2024 ROAR Simulation Racing Series. Sid is a programmer on Bellarmine’s five-time World Champion robotics team, The Cheesy Poofs (team254.com). He also runs the Bellarmine Chess Club and participates in Bellarmine’s Maker Lab and Ultimate Frisbee programs. Outside of school, Sid loves to watch Formula 1, cheering for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari at every Grand Prix.
Mikhil Kiran
Mikhil Kiran is a junior at the Harker School in San Jose, California. He has participated in the 2024 ROAR Academy Summer Session and the Summer 2024 Simulation Racing Series. Mikhil is on his school’s robotics team, and also enjoys participating in coding competitions with friends. In his free time, Mikhil enjoys playing sports like soccer and volleyball, and playing jazz music.
Melinda Kuo
Melinda Kuo is a junior at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, CA. She participated in the 2024 ROAR Academy and competed in the Summer 2024 Simulation Racing Series. She is involved in many STEM clubs at school. Besides STEM, she is also an artist who won multiple awards including the Scholastic Gold Key in multiple categories. She’s also a part of her school’s chamber orchestra, playing in the first violin section.
Altair Lee
Altair Lee is a junior at the International School of the Sacred Heart Tokyo. They attended the 2024 ROAR Academy Summer Session and competed in the Summer 2024 Simulation Racing Series. Altair spends most of their free time using Python, Arduino, and 3D modeling to invent new gadgets, and they aspire to become an engineer. In addition, they are involved in VEX Robotics and have started a local CoderDojo chapter in their city. Otherwise, Altair loves rock music, motorcycles, and hanging out with friends.
Alex Lin
Alex Lin is a junior in Walnut High School in Walnut, CA. He’s competed in the ROAR Simulation Racing Series since Winter 2023. He is involved in competitions such as Science Olympiad and FBLA in school and leads the Walnut CyberPatriot team. In his free time, he likes to take photos and hang out with friends.
Yuehan (John) Yang
Yuehan (John) Yang is a senior at Walnut High School. He has competed in the ROAR simulation competition for the past three seasons and had the opportunity to participate in ROAR Academy’s 2024 Summer session. In his free time, he enjoys filming videos and playing cards. A fun fact about him is that he has been jogging every afternoon for the past two years!