This week was all about implementation, and it felt like one of the most intense yet rewarding parts of the project so far. The students were coming to me with their ideas, eager to start coding up their solutions, and my role was to guide them through it. I helped them think through their designs, figure out how to take user input, and map out the functions they needed. Of course, some of the things we covered earlier had slipped their minds, so I spent a lot of time going back over the basics, showing them examples, and helping them adapt the code to fit what they wanted to build.

It was a hectic week—every student needed something working, and that meant juggling a lot of one-on-one time, troubleshooting, and constant progress checks. We had designed their models at the beginning of the week to ensure there was enough time to 3D print them, which was smart because it allowed the students to focus more on their circuit design and coding while their physical prototypes were being printed. But managing the coding side, where everyone was at different levels, was a real test of multitasking for me.

What really stood out this week was how much I learned about leadership in practice. I realized that being a leader isn’t just about giving instructions; it’s about enabling, listening, and giving direction when needed. I had to be a mentor and offer advice while also stepping back to let the students take ownership of their work. There were plenty of moments where things didn’t go as planned—prototypes not working, wiring issues, or code that wouldn’t compile. It was frustrating at times, but those were the moments where patience and perseverance really came into play. Refining an idea and figuring out how to make it work, even when it felt like hitting a wall, was a valuable lesson for me as much as for the students.

The approach I took was to have everyone build a little bit of their prototype at a time. That way, everyone was making progress at their own pace, but we were all moving forward together. Once each student had a small part of their prototype working, we’d move on to the next phase. It helped keep the momentum going, even though it meant constantly shifting gears to help each student individually.

This was definitely the hardest week so far—trying to make sure every student had something functional by the end. But it was also incredibly satisfying to see how far they’d come. Watching them troubleshoot and eventually solve problems with their prototypes made all the effort worth it. I’m really proud of what they’ve achieved, and I’m excited to see how their final projects come together in the next stages.