Milken Knights

Team 1836 Kicking butt in a graciously professional manner!

Our Team Members


Austin Shalit 
Male 
About Me

This is my second year on the Milken Knights.  I am an all around person and try to learn a bit of every thing!  I have been taking stuff apart for a long time.  I have been part of FIRST since the second grade. Currently I am the person to go to for any pneumatic questions. When I am not at robotics you can find me in the theatre building sets and programming lights. 


Position

Pneumatic Captain

Team Member Since

2011

Graduation Year

2016

 
Benji Stawski 
Site Admin 
Male 
About Me

Hey! My name is Benji Stawski and I am currently in 8th grade here at Milken Middle School. I am in charge of this website and am helping out with some PR work. Outside of robotics I enjoy acting and playing a variety of sports. I also love to dj at parties! :D

Feel free to email me at benji@milkenknights.com


Position

PR, Web Design

Team Member Since

2011

Graduation Year

2016

 
Daniel Kessler 
Male 
About Me

Hi, I'm Daniel Kessler, and this is my first year on the Milken Knights. I am the programmer on the team. I program in C++ and I love programming on the team and as a hobby.


Position

Programmer

Team Member Since

2011

Graduation Year

2015

 
Jacob Zeitzew  
Male 
17 years old 
About Me

Hi,

My name is Jacob Zeitzew. I'm in 11th grade, i'm 6 foot 5 inches, i wear i size 17 shoe, I start on varsity football and baseball (lineman and first base man), I've been on the team since the 7th grade, and I like to think that i'm interesting. Throughout the years, i've been titled as; Sevie, New kid, Jacob, Driver, Big kid, Director, Overlord and many more. 

 

"If brute force doesn't work. You're not using enough." -Unknown 


Position

Jacob

Team Member Since

2007

Graduation Year

2013

 
Johnny Rashtian  
Male 
16 years old 
About Me

Hello, my name is Jonathan Rashtian. I am currently in 10th grade and I have been on the team for 3 years. My job on the MilkenKnights team is to CAD and model the robot before we start building it. I like to play video games, tennis, volleyball, and guitar. 


Position

CAD

Team Member Since

2008

Graduation Year

2014

 
Jonathan Zur 
Male 
About Me

Hi! My name is Jonathan Zur. I am a current junior in highschool, and a 3rd year member of the Milken Knights Robotics Team. On the team, I am primarily a builder/engineer, however I often find myself doing things in many different fields all across robotics spectrum. When I'm not at robotics, I am often doing other science related or creative activities, spending time with friends and family, or just relaxing with some rock or orchestral music. My favorite tool to build with is the ratchet, and my favorite movie series is Star Wars.


Position

Co-Captain

Team Member Since

2008

Graduation Year

2013

 
Joshua Goldenstein 
Male 
14 years old 
About Me

Hi, I'm Josh I am a little of a jack-of-all-trades on the team and I do a little bit of everything. I am primarily on the electronics team, but also work on building, and help out with some other stuff. Outside of Robotics, I am on the varsity soccer team as a keeper. My favorite movie of all time is Inception and I enjoy playing games such as driver of San Francisco and Fifa 2012.


Position

Eileen's personal slave

Team Member Since

2010

Graduation Year

2016

 
Kyle Latin 
Male 
15 years old 
About Me

My name is Kyle. I am a sophmore and I am the Head of the Animation Team. This is my second year on the team. I am not related to Ben Stiller, have never been asked if I am, I have never even considered that I could possibly be, and I higly doubt that I 

am. I also am not a famous supermodel from Mars. I do not speak Latin so please don't ask me that. I also am determined to turn the planet to sheet metal.


Position

3D Animator

Team Member Since

2010

Graduation Year

2014

 
Megan McEwen 
Mentor
Female 
About Me

My name is Megan McEwen and I am the Associate Director of the Mitchell Academy of Science and Technology at Milken Community High School. I am originally from the Bay Area, but I decided I wanted stranger weather in my life. After experimenting with New York, Baton Rouge, and Madrid, I've finally settled on Los Angeles. I am currently appreciating the great students at Milken, the great programs of MAST, and the 70-degree weather in January.


Position

Mentor

Team Member Since

2010

 
Milana Bochkur Dratver 
Female 
About Me

Hello, my name is Milana Bochkur Dratver. I am a sophomore and have been on the Milken Knights for two years. I enjoy every challenge presented to me, and that is what I love about robotics. In my free time, I like to paint, read, and play piano. I also speak four languages: Russian, English, Hebrew, and Spanish. Oh and by the way, if you refuse to wear your safety goggles, I will come find you... -_- 


Position

Safety Captain, Chair of Business and Public Relations

Team Member Since

2010

Graduation Year

2014

 
Nathan Hakkakzadeh  
Male 
About Me

Hello, my name is Nathan Hakkakzadeh but you would have known that if you had look to the left. This is my fourth year on the robotics team. For the most effective way to explain my job on the team, please listen to this song by They Might Be Giants. Other than making the robot look good in 3D, I play stupid video games, sleep, attempt to disprove Algebra, re-code my IRC bot for the nth time, and making Linux distros nobody uses. I look forward to an amazing year of robotics and a fanastic year of CAD!


Position

Computer Assisted Design

Team Member Since

2009

Graduation Year

2014

 
Nathan Sabah  
Male 
17 years old 
About Me

Hey, my name is Nathan Sabah and I've been on the team since I was in 7th grade. After three years of being on the Milkenknights (formerly Sabertooth Robotics (formerly Milken Robotics)), I was appointed the position of Director of Mechanical Engineering. I have assumed this position for the past two years. Now I am proud to call myself the Team Captain of the Milkenknights robotics team. Other than building robots, I am a nationally ranked archer. I have also been doing archery since 7th grade. My ultimate dream is to one day compete in the Olympic games.


Position

Team Captain

Team Member Since

2007

Graduation Year

2012

 
Zach Benezra 
Male 
About Me

hello my name is Zach benezra. I am currently in the 10th grade. During the weekend I play video games, read books, and play tennis. 


Position

animation

Team Member Since

2011

Graduation Year

2014

 
Zoey Lieber  
Female 
About Me

Hello my name is Zoey Lieber. I am currently a sophmore at Milken Community highschool. I consider myself an avid academic, but also a culturally rounded student. I participate in the extra curicular activities of not only the Milken Knights robotics team, but I also have a role in the school play and am part of an exchange program with Canadian students. In my free time I volunteer at the Skirball Cultural Center.   


Position

Co-Head of PR; Co-Head of Business; Member of Animation Inspiration Team,

Team Member Since

2011

Graduation Year

2014 

 
Noah Berks 
Male 
About Me

Hello my name is Noah and I work with electronics for the team. I enjoy gaming and technology  in general. Aside from Robotics I am very interested in game design from programming to graphics. My favorite subject is English and my favorite ice cream is fish food.


Position

Electrical

Team Member Since

2010

Graduation Year

2015

 
Michael Bick 
Male 
About Me

Hi, my name is Michael Bick, and I am an 8th grader at Milken Middle School. I have been on an FLL tean since 6th Grade, and joined our FRC team as a 7th grader. Over the summer I learned how to CAD, and am now the lead CADder of our team. In my spare time, I like to tinker with things, and have taken classes on inventing, flight science, robotics, electrical engineering, and quantum physics. My friends like to call me "Michael Bick."

Position

CAD Captain

Team Member Since

2010

Graduation Year

2016

 
Eileen Kahn 
Mentor
Female 
About Me

Hi, I'm Eileen Kahn and I am the queen of robotics. I started the program at the school and have loved it ever since. I even went back to school to get my teaching credential in order to continue the program. I went to BHHS, The University of Arizona, The Monterey Institute of International Studies, and UCLA. My major in college was romance languages. I also speak Russian and was supposed to be a spy but decided it was too dangerous for me. I was an interpreter for the Olympics in 1984 and worked for the FBI doing some intelligence work. I am a sharpshooter with guns and rifles but I don't own a gun and I only shoot at targets. I love foreign films, music and reading historical fiction and mystery books. I love to try different kinds of foods and I love learning how to speak to people in foreign languages. I own 20 pairs of converse sneakers in various colors, including ORANGE!


Position

Mentor

Team Member Since

2011

 
Noah Cherner  
Male 
About Me

Howdy! I'm Noah, and I'm a senior at Milken Community High School. Math and sciences have always been my passion, but I'm also a huge architecture and arts junkie. I've done various things for the Milken Knights in and out of our "garage" on campus, but this year my goal is to build up our business team. I've been focusing on PR and graphic design to create promotional publications and videos showcasing how awesome the Milken Knights are!

Random fact about me: I'm extremely afraid of jell-o.


Position

Public Relations & Graphic Design

 
Mr. K
Mentor 
Male 
About Me

 

Position

Mentor

Team Member Since

 

 
Bernard Fuchs 
Male 
About Me

Hello. I'm Bernard Fuchs and I'm a junior on the robotics team. I've been on the robotics team since my freshman year, so I have a fairly good idea of how stuff works around here. My main job is to wire the robot and fix electrical components, but I also do a lot of work with chain and the design of the robot. Few other people on the team know as much math and physics as I, which means I do a lot of work with jobs that require these skills. I also never make mistakes, and will not hesitate to correct other people when they're wrong. When it's not robotics season, I play water polo, and actually have time to complete all my homework without costantly turning things in late. 

Position

Director of Electrical Engineering 

Team Member Since

2013

Graduation Year

2009