Is There Any Insight Or Inspirational Thoughts From 2011 FRC Rookie Teams Out There?

[JaneYoung]

All -

I had the pleasure of spending some quality time talking with a parent from FRC 3529 at the Dallas Regional. She offered insight, perspective, and gave me a huge dose of inspiration with her enthusiasm and her belief in what we are all trying to achieve in FRC. It's been a week since the drive home from Dallas and I've been thinking about the conversations we had. It made me think that we have mentors, parents, and students on rookie teams who have a lot of insight into this program and wouldn't mind sharing some of it with the CD community.

Congratulations on completing your 2011 season and to those traveling to St. Louis soon, enjoy! See all of you next season.

Jane

[penguinfrk]

There was a rookie team at the Seattle Olympic Regional whose pit was across from ours. While we were getting ready to head off to the field, we heard one of their mentors yell:

"If you are a junior or senior on the team and you have not picked up the scholarship information from the pit admin's desk, do it now, gogogo!"

It was pretty heartwarming to see how much that mentor cared for the students. :)

[robobandmom]

My son's team was a "rookie team" last year, not this year, but I was certainly blown away by this program. One of the most amazing things about FIRST is the wonderful team sponsors. I was FLOORED there were so many generous organizations helping these kids and their rookie team. I really had no idea at how big this is. One of their major sponsors really went above and beyond. Not only did they give the team a much needed financial donation, but also one of their employees became a valued mentor who helped the team craft a long range business plan and helped them to set their goals. This business plan and their long term goals have helped this team immeasurably these last 2 years.
When the team unexpectedly got a RAS, their sponsors came thru with money for Atlanta. One sponsor even sent someone to Atlanta to be with us for the duration. He was a fountain of knowledge and a rock for us when things started getting crazy.
This sponsor works not only to help FIRST teams, but also seeks to raise the minimum standards for science and math education. The BEST PART is there are many sponsors like this helping so many FIRST teams. It is wonderful to see such hope, optimism and enthusiasm for our youth.
My son's team is fortunate to be heading back to Championships for their second year. It is amazing to see them in action. All the students have given so much...but really they are getting back so much more than they give.

[Akash Rastogi]

Inspiration comes from doing the impossible. I believe that once you read about South Philly High, you'll understand why the existence of 3553 is a miracle in itself.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-03/news/29377341_1_principal-otis-hackney-math-teacher-violence-against-asian-students

http://articles.philly.com/2010-09-15/news/24975304_1_asian-students-asian-classmates-student-safety

My favorite part about this team, is the principal Otis Hackney. "In March 2011 he will speak at a forum on Capitol Hill about the importance of computer science education."

This guy "gets it" and that gives me high hopes.