UFH: Travis Hoffman

[CD47-Bot]

Thread created automatically to discuss UFH Honoree: Travis Hoffman (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/ufh.php?action=honoreedetail&id=47/).

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/ufh/image/1128313444IMissYouGuys_jpg (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/ufh.php?action=honoreedetail&id=47)

[Amanda Morrison]

Congratulations to Travis Hoffman, our 43rd Unsung FIRST Hero.

Congrats Trav, and I'm honored to be on your list of favorite memories. I'll fill in as your human player at IRI anytime. :)

[Karthik]

Congratulations, Travis.

What we have in Travis Hoffman, is one of the most dedicated mentors in all of FIRST. The term mentor is so much more than a title to Travis, it's a role filled with responsibilities, that Travis takes ever so seriously. He constantly works to ensure that his students get the most out of FIRST. I've read some of the e-mails that he sends out to his team. When sending his team out to a competition, he makes sure they know that behaving graciously and professionally is a priority.

As is written in Travis' profile, we met at the 2004 Pittsburgh Regional. As the famous story goes, his robot broke my robot, his team came over to my team and offered all the help they could give. Ever since this date, Teams 1114 & 48 have been the best of friends. Not only that, Travis has become one of my best friends in all of FIRST. (Despite the fact he has never passed up the opportunity to make a joke at my expense... Who am I kidding? I enjoy it, he's a funny guy) He's someone I can look to whenever I have any sort of FIRST dilemma, or if I need to complain about a bad poker game.

I look forward to competing with and against Travis for many years to come.

Enjoy the spotlight Travis, you belong in it!

[The Paco]

Enjoy the spotlight Travis, you belong in it!

Well said Karthik, well said!

Trav's contributions to our team and to FIRST are truly inspiring and lead many a young and impressionable student to the "Superbowl of Smarts"!

Thanks Trav for being such a great guy!

[DCA Fan]

Congrats Travis, you've earned it!

[Rich Kressly]

Congrats Travis!!!
Very well deserved and your description of your relationship with the students of 48 is something that hits home with many of us. :)

[KathieK]

Congratulations! It's obvious that FIRST has had a major impact on you and you have had a major impact on the lives of the students you have come in contact with. I loved the commercial, let's find someone to film it!

[Bharat Nain]

Congratulations Travis, you absolutely deserve this. It's great knowing a cool mentor like you.

[iCurtis]

Congratulations Hoffman!

[Steve W]

Travis is a guy that takes time to get to know. Friendly and helpful on the outside but what's inside is much more. I have been learning more and more about Travis in the past few years I will say that there is probably a lot more to go. Travis is a big guy with a big heart and big dedication. I am proud to know him as a friend and FIRST associate.

Travis, you deserve all of the accolades. Read them take them to heart but PLEASE don't let your head get any bigger. :D

[Billfred]

Congrats, Travis!

(puts that image in the caption contest hopper)

[Andy Baker]

Travis,

You are a great recipient for this award. In your write-up, you ask why you are recognized for being a UFH. From what I can tell, you care about the students on your team immensely, and they appreciate it. You inspire them with your friendship. The respect you give to your teammates is admirable. You are so humble that you don't realize you are doing great things.

Every FIRST team needs a Travis Hoffman on it. He is not only a great engineer, but the model liason between students and engineers. For this reason, he is an example for all technical mentors to follow. He listens to the students. He guides them in their technical endeavors. He not only is their mentor, but also their friend.

Travis, thanks for reminding me how to be a good mentor.

Andy Baker

[John V-Neun]

Congratulations Travis!
It has been wonderful knowing you over the years, and it is wonderful to see you honored.

Thanks for all you have done. Your passion is an inspiration to everyone.

Kudos,
John

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Congratulations,T!
It is nice to know that Team Elite has some great help and the teams in your area are blessed to have you close by. Keep up the great work you do.

[tiffany34990]

Congrats Travis Hoffman!! Your great work inspires us all. Thanks for being a great mentor and friend in the FIRST community.

[Arefin Bari]

About time I had a chance to read through the whole thing. I have seen Travis around at Regionals, Championship but never talked to him in person. I never knew that I would be in the position to give this story out but... this one time I went by team 48's pit (actually I went over to 45's but 48 was right next to them), their students were having trouble figuring something out. I saw travis sit there with the students. Talk about real mentoring? A mentor is a mentor when he sits there and helps the students to solve the problem. He is one of my inspiration to become a mentor. Thank you Travis. You deserve the honor. This time when I see you around, I will definitely come up to you and talk to you in person. :)

[Travis Hoffman]

Thank you so much to everyone who has expressed their kind words regarding this UFH award, whether they are posted here on Chief Delphi, sent via email, or said in person.

Once again, I am flattered and also surprised that so many people notice and appreciate the "little things". This is, of course, the same kind of stuff hundreds of as yet-unrecognized FIRST mentors, both young and old, do for their students and their teams every day, so I want to turn this around and thank all of you for doing such a wonderful job. Thank you especially to those who aren't used to hearing those words too often.

As Arefin's post deftly reminded me, throughout the course of a mentor's FIRST career, hundreds of people catch a fleeting glimpse of your mentoring efforts, and you aren't even aware of it. Many observe what you do and are inspired by your actions. These are the parents and school administrators who visit your shop and see you working with your kids during the build season. These are the people who walk by your pit and catch part of a conversation between you and students in need. They are your alliance partners who witness you comforting your drive team after a particularly tough loss, or the people who watch as you scurry from pit to pit offering up whatever assistance you can. While these people may not always be able to come forward and offer up their personal gratitude for your actions, you should still take comfort in the fact that people DO take notice of your kindness, and they silently appreciate what you do. As great programs like UFH work to uncover much of this silent inspiration and place it in the spotlight, may the unknown multitudes continue to be inspired by your mentorship efforts, and may the knowledge of their quiet appreciation further bolster your enthusiasm and commitment to the FIRST program.

[surgeon_general]

Team 1708's thanks go out to Travis for his help and leadership during our rookie year, and Joe D. and my personal thanks as well.