FIRST and Success: A Question of Definition
 

Okay, so, rather than watch another thread go down the toilet, I decided to start this topic and see where it goes. The Championship threads still hold some relevance to FIRST and I'd like to see them remain open. I hope the same for this, as well.

I've seen a lot of people involved in FIRST talk some about the right and wrong reasons for being in the program.

Personally, I don't think I'm capable of fully understanding everyone's reason for being in FIRST, nor do I think it's my place to judge the value of those reasons I do understand. As such, I tend to err toward the liberal end of the spectrum when it comes to issues of questionable participation, commitment or success.

So, I'm wondering how other people feel about this issue. How do you or your team define success? Is it sending kids to college? Is it changing their career choices? Is it making them smile? In my mind, there are too many possibilities to count. I'm really curious as to how other people gauge success.

What is the message?

Has FIRST outgrown Dean's vision? If Dean were to announce tomorrow that kids who join just for the hope of going to Walt Disney World are in this for the wrong reason, would his word become law? Or, would you question it?

I guess, really, I'm trying to get a sense of exactly how far FIRST's potential has extended. If you've read anything I've written recently, you'd know that I think the potential to save and change and enrich lives through FIRST exists in venues far more varied that robotics, science, or technology.

I'm sorry there aren't more concrete explanations of exactly what I'm trying to grasp, here. If you think you understand, run with it. If not, well, I guess that's okay, too.

I see Disney as a reward for the workers, and in our team, if you don't work and get your name out, you won't be going.

Perhaps a good definition of what first is as it stands today or at any given time might be had in the reactions of an outside observer who has taken a look at the organization and it’s apparent effects for the first time. I.E. initial impressions.

For example, when I told my father about my latest writing project and the connection it had to FIRST, he was curious and took a look at the organization for himself with the inter-net tools he had at hand.
His reply was this:

“Those kids are different! They seem more mature, respectful, and intelligent than most adults. They can actually think instead of just spitting out facts. They are obviously getting a real education.”

He feels as I do that the young adults and children of first are a true hope for the survival and improvement of society.

The message? FIRST is a real education for real kids.



Is that what you’re looking for M?

Success is the indescribable feeling you get when you see something you worked so hard on in front of thousands of people.

Success is realizing that anything is possible, persistence is the key.

Success is the gleam in a child's eyes when they catch their first glimpse of your creation and their life is forever changed.

Success is making a difference.

Oh, I like that very much (Mr./Ms.?) Slamminsammy.


Success is also in being able to impress and give hope to a cynical old man that has seen much pain in his life.

Thank you FIRST.

To an extent, yes. It's always interesting to learn what people outside the program think of things.

I'm really wondering, though, to what extent people involved in the program understand the scope of what they're capable of. I don't know if they do, or if they can know this.

Is it just about robots? Competition? Can we do something more?

By precluding kids who don't show obvious, typified interest in these machines from participating, would we be maintaining the sanctity of the vision, or would be stunting its growth?

In that vein, is there a place on these teams for gearheads? . . .the kids who are already inspired by science and technology. Are they in the way? Do they facilitate spreading the message?

Why aren't the kids who sit alongside the sidelines and observe as valued? Why are they looked upon as leeches, in it for a trip? What definition do we use to determine their worth to the team, or the program? Do we deem the program a failure in their case? Maybe those students inspire the gearheads to look beyond science and engineering - to art, or history, or economics. Is that counterproductive? Has FIRST failed if a student learns so much about themselves that they realize engineering *isn't* their path? ....like I have.

More to chew on, I guess. Sorry for the stream of consciousness.

I don't think everyone looks at these kids as leeches, just in it for a trip. Just last meeting, I told a few kids that nationals may not be at Disney this year. One of them flat out told me that was the only reason he was here. I frankly told him to leave if he was serious.

I've been told I'm not the only one it's happened to.

If imagineering is considered engeneering, the I will be doing that job.

But as for the question, I think we need to look at what people think of the lowest common denominator. I rarely work in the pits. I hate the pits. I would rather do things that I wouldn't rather do than work there. But I show off Team 384, watch matches, and spread the word. I also like to edit video for various things. :)

My question to add to Micheal's is this:

Should FIRST change their focus, from promoting just science and technology, and add promoting higher learning through a robot?

If he is in it JUST for the trip, just to sit around and be a paper weight, then get the hell out of their. But if he's interested in going to Disney and building a robot to get there, then keep him. He's got potential.

Success is actually learning something through the competition. It doesn't even matter if its related science.

I definately agree. I think that everyone gets so many different things out of First. I personally learned a technical thing or two but most of what I learned were business skills that will stick with me for the rest of my life. For other people it was learning about how to design, animate, or fabricate the robot.

I think with so many facets of FIRST, success comes from learning the true meaning of teamwork through working towards a common goal.

A team's goals change from team to team. Some want to win championships, some want to win the chairman's award, some want to mentor other teams, some simply want to produce a working robot and learn. And from what I noticed, teams usually very happy if the process of obtaining the goal the team had a lot of fun and worked together well but there is usually less fond memories if there was a lot of inner strife. We wanted to qualify for a nationals this year but it didn't happen but we felt incredibly accomplished working together to produce an amazing robot.

Re: FIRST and Success: A Question of Definition
 

The message delivered by FIRST can be defined many ways, from many points of views, and believe me mine is only one way of seeing it. From what I have seen so far, FIRST is trying to expose students to new concepts and experiences that they wouldn't have an opportunity to tap into. Depending what you work on - Building the Robot, Animation, Chairman's Award, Public Relations, Website - The message may differ, but from all these topics and more, I can pull a few things they share in common.

Learn the subjects that interest you, but at the same time know how it relates to real life situations, and how it is applied. At the same time, have fun, remember this is a game, an extremely complicated game that teaches a lot, but still a game. Have fun with it :)

Hope that made sense.... It did in my head :rolleyes:

While one student may not be of much value to the team, do we ever stop to think about how much value the team may be to that student?

Mabey, but think. If the student ONLY gets a trip out of the team, then what does the student get? A trip to WDW on the house and an excused absance from school.

But if WDW lured him into robotics, and he has potential and will do things, then keep him. If he dosn't do anything, then the team's in a pickle.

I hear all of this about people only caring about walt disney world and stuff and maybe if a team's having a problem about people only getting to go to nationals, then maybe they could present themself in a better way.

This is just from my perspective but we don't glorify nationals that much. This year my team qualifies since we're an odd team but we are only going if the team earns its way there. Sure, the ambience of being surrounded by hundreds of teams is awesome but our team would rather spend the extra money getting to know more teams intimately at a regional or helping another team. For all the info meetings where we recruit new members, walt disney world was not mentioned once and I think the only regional we even talked about was just the one we went to in LA. We draw enough people in on the basis of a love for engineering or animation or the business aspect (not as much, but they got me).

Also on our team you have to earn your way to travel and be funded by the team. Basically the team pays for the hard working, committed, and crucial members of the team to go. Its a really really tough desicion (that grrr...our advisor made me make, I still resent him) but it makes sense to me. If people want to travel too they can pay their own way otherwise they can get the regional experience by driving 1/2 hour to the LA regional. But there's no way anyone on our team is getting a free trip for not working.

I only see one problem of apathy on our team and it comes from those students who want to add something else to their college application. Is this a problem with any other teams? Sometimes we luck out and they're drawn based on the fact that it looks good on the application but they end up doing some amazing work, but there's just some people who just don't do anything, so annoying!

Our "Team Vision" goes something like this:

"To be a place where our students can explore their giftings and talents in a professional environment."

In our minds, if a kid finds out they are gifted in an area and pursues it into a career, we have been successful. We don't care if they suspected they were gifted in that area or not. We have had kids discover unexpected talents in Graphic Arts and Pnuematics and had others further develop known gifts for computer programming.

Finding the place in the world God created you for and choosing to be there, is our definition of success in life. Our team is dedicated to helping our students acheive that end. The professional environment means acting in a professional manner. Respecting others in spite of disagreement and maintaining a unity of purpose. Also working with professionals and doing professional grade work wherever possible.


The beauty of FIRST is that it has so many avenues to explore and they all open off of the same square.

This thread is teeming with replies dealing with material possessions and this troubles me greatly.

How so?

I've seen much about "free" trips but little about material things. Unless you think the giftings I mentioned were tangilble things, which they are not. I was thinking more of things like the ability to see how a structure must be built to do it's job. Or how to lay out random pictures to create something that conveys a message. These are things that come from the core of one's being and while the products can be bought and sold the gift itself cannot.

These gifts are mental and to some extent spiritual, not material.

Learning new skills is not inherently material either. Though the skills might be marketable enough to sell your proficiency and use the proceeds for material things. But I don't see references to that either.

So please explain your comment, with specific examples of what you mean, for the slow (like myself) among us.

While not everything deals with possessions, exactly, I understand what you mean. Many of the responses seem deeply rooted in concrete manifestations of some of the questions I posed. . . I'm very interested in learning more, though.

Perhaps it's something you've never had experience with personally, but that doesn't mean your input isn't valued. . . I'd like for this to take a more philosophical turn. . . maybe a bit introspective?

I'm really interested in learning more about this because I am finally realizing how important parts of FIRST have been in my life, and furthermore, I'm noticing that very little of it has to do with the robots themselves. Sure, I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to see some of my designs become a reality - and I'm eternally grateful to have learned that engineering really doesn't seem to be for me - but, those are just two minor realizations in the grand plan. I very unabashedly admit how important Walt Disney World has been for me as far as some of my involvement in FIRST is concerned.

But, now, I'm becoming quite interested in how FIRST can influence people in unexpected ways. We've all heard about getting girls excited in science and technology, or giving opportunities to students from low-income areas, or placing students in jobs - but what are the untold stories? Who are we leaving out?

When we make broad generalizations about what FIRST does and who it's for, are we alienating these people and their experiences? I've realized by now that some people aren't as vocal as I am (even though I'm quite timid in person). Are we driving these people away from the program?

I've begun to worry about some of the homogeny that permeates FIRST. Just as economies of scale destroy craftsmanship, and Wal*Mart Supercenters decimate entrepeneurship, I worry that the regimentation of FIRST programs into curriculum-based classes, or varsity sports, or victory driven activities narrows its focus far too much. I worry that the space for the idle dreamer is being down-sized in favor of the yes-men. I worry that there's someone else out there just like me, but that we may gloss over them and their input, ideas, and contributions because we they don't jive with the master plan.

So, because of this, I've grown curious about how we define success. I'm less interested in where we draw the line than I am in why we draw it there; or anywhere, for that matter.

So much about FIRST focuses on the team, and teamwork, and cooperation and mentorship, but have we lost sight of the idea that this is all to benefit the individual? ...so that that they may go out into the world and have the ability to work well with others, but the individuality and self-confidence and purpose to think for themselves, to challenge convention, and to do a better job of inspiring the next generation?

...just some more thoughts...

Personally I dont care if I go to Nationals or not... Im in the program to get inspired in a technical job, which is what FIRST is about. I didnt go my 1st year, wasnt suposed to go last year but went because I kept coming and putting in many hours and our teacher saw my will to be on the team. I now am one of the leaders on our team. I thinking about going into Engineering Teaching cause of the experiences I've had with my team.

Do you go to school for the field trips?

Do you go to school because you have to?

Do you go to school and cheer if your classes are cancelled?

Do you go to school in hopes that you will get a higher paying job?

Do you go to school to learn facts?

Answer yes to any of the above and you cannot begin to understand. All I can say and hope you comprehend is that vacations are material. You must dig deeper to find the true meaning of (and path to) success (not only in robotics, but in many other areas of life as well).

A great FIRST guy* once said "These robots are 3-dimensional physical metaphors for what we are actually trying to accomplish.."

I think FIRST is about inspiring, teaching, and developing people in a technological world. And I think if FIRST teaches you that engineering is not your thing, it is just as valuable (and successful) as if it creates new engineers. I think the whole FIRST experience is about learning that there is something more to everything, it's not all cut and dry, it's not all easy, and there are a lot of different angles to take.

As for the people on the sidelines, I think they are important. I think there just is a disparity between posters on what the 'sidelines' mean. I don't mean the kids who join to go to Disney, that's their choice to do their thing and I do not think they should be asked to leave a team (you'll find that once most start showing up and doing work, their motives will change... but this thread isn't to argue this), but I think the 'sidelines' meant the kids that don't necessarily want to be in the pit or doing the engineering but focusing on the other aspect of the robot.

These people are essential in FIRST as they are in any technological business. The researchers in any field find a problem, some engineers solve it, some writers gather info & write manuals, the economists determine marketability, the graphics people have to design the looks & packaging, the artists design the advertisements, etc, etc. You need the whole package to succeed to the best of your abilities.

I think being successful in FIRST is creating an environment where people can grow, learn, change, and recreate... just like we do with our robots. It's about making an environment where kids feel they can be successful... in whatever discipline they choose. The world would be pretty boring if we were all engineers...

I hope my post hasn't been too off base. I just think FIRST is about exposure to science & technology and working on acceptance on the greater scale of things. But like the Chairman's Award description says.. it's about the people.. the individuals behind it. Just like anything in life, you as an individual will take from it only how much you want.. A team in itself is simply a group of individuals who want something more, to learn something, to take something away.. no matter how big or small.

Mike Bastoni (*) said the quote at the beginning on some news interview back when I was a sophomore in high school (whoa.. 6 years ago!) and it has stuck with me ever since as my definition of FIRST.

Learning and Experience is Success
 

I feel that FIRST is about learning. The entire competition is structured such that it benefits all who are involved. It provides a great opportunity for those involved to learn whatever their heart desires.

There is always something to learn, and there is always something to teach.

Every person involved has something they know, that they can pass on to others, so chances are if there is something you want to learn about, there is someone out there who can teach you.

Success should be defined in terms of how many students have been "touched" by the program. Everyone involved benefits in some way. Even those students who are only in it "for the trip to Disney" will come out of this program better than they were. Does that not constitute a success? Should successes be measured by students who are inspired to go into engineering? What about the students who went through the program and learned that engineering isn't for them, and instead went onto do something else with their lives. Should they be counted as successes? I feel that every single person that goes through the person is a success. There are no "bad experiences" only unpleasant ones. Everyone who experiences this wonderful, amazing program is a success.

In this competition, the sky truly is the limit. Anything is possible. Success is showing this fact to those participating, and letting them know that anything they come up with, anything they dream up can be done. They can learn about almost anything they want.

The sheer magnitude of the opportunity this program represents astounds me. It makes me wish I was a HSer again knowing then what I know now. As a mentor, I try to show the HSers on my team what I know, what I have learned, and encourage them to learn on their own.

This stuff seriously excites me, and I am thankful I have been given the opportunity to experience this. I can't even comprehend the possible benefits involved in this program, and the impact it has had, and will have on my life.

Thank you all for being a part of it!

the big picture...
 

Very well said, John and Colleen, and others.

Exposure, education, and inspiration… Those are the essential elements when you describe the success of FIRST. You cannot fully understand the whole FIRST experience and its success without knowing what each of what those mean. You can’t inspire people without teaching them a few things in the process, and you can’t educate people about science and technology and other things without exposing them to the application of them. It is hard to tell the whole story really quickly… After all, how do you describe your lesson in Life with just a few sentence?

You know, the amazing thing about FIRST, is that it’s actually fun for people, and it motivate them to do things just because they will have a good time, unlike going to school or doing homework or taking tests. Students actually want to do things because they want to win, or build a cool robot, or make a really good animation… And teachers want to do it because its fun to teach different things, AND you can see the result in a relatively short time.


Depending on each person’s experience and personality, they can be inspired by different things and learn whatever they can in the process. And that’s the key right there. Because EVERYONE is different in their own way, they are able to get different things out of it and do whatever they want to see happening base on their experience. That’s why there are so many different lines drawn out there regarding the success in FIRST, and what FIRST mean to each person… Everyone wants different things.

It is very difficult to draw a general picture of FIRST when every part of the scene is so complicated. Definitely specific parts of the big picture only show a small part of it.


Remember when Dean said, “Everyone here is a winner” every time he made a speech at award ceremony? This is what he is talking about. There are just not enough awards out there to recognize every success and accomplishment.


The success of the FIRST organization, I think, is it’s able to spreading its words and get to so many different people at different part of the country and inspire each of them to start their own program related to Science and Technology, and the world out there.

The Team’s success is they are able to take advantage of this opportunity to expand themselves into programs that continue to spread the full benefit, and inspire, educate, and expose their members about Science and Technology, and the world out there.

The participant’s success is they are able to spend time in their team and the program, and get the most out of them.

Over all, the success of both FIRST and its teams is they are able to take advantage of an environment of a competition, and make a positive difference in people and their path in Life. People learn by doing things, by interacting with other people. People find their path of Life by walking through it. And that’s what FIRST does to people, it give them an experience they will never forget, and its happening at this moment right now.


I can’t help but think that the reason why FIRST’s mission is so simple because they want to give everyone the freedom to create what they want, which is the right way to do it. After all, you shouldn’t tell people how to live their life… You can only show them the paths. Sure, you can say “FIRST should concentrate in inspiring this and teaching that”, but at the end, some people will get inspired by it (science and technology in this case), some other people will benefit from the process and decide to do something else.

I think the way to look at this question, is to understand that the success in this program is to come up with your definition of success, and going through the process to achieve that.

Yes, I do go to school to learn facts. So does everyone. You can't innovate if you don't have the facts on how things work. Sure, you can spit back facts word-for-word but in a lot of classes you can't get by just doing that.

I go to school to learn concepts, ideas, and past and future ways of life.

Everybody already has a big jar of facts; going to school to learn more facts will only make you get a bigger jar. But he who has deeper insight realizes that concepts and ideas cannot be contained in even the largest jar, bucket or box. You cannot touch or see these things, but you can be enhanced with knowledge and experience of them.

There's a big difference between learning facts and learning ideas. For example, just about everyone knows that the volume of a sphere is given by:

4/3*pi*r^3

But do you know where this equation comes from? If not, how could you ever find the volume of some new geometric shape you didn't have an equation for? The key is comprehension, not just memorization.

I think the same thing applies to FIRST. I really couldn't care less what the torque was on our robot nor do I care about which wires go where. What I care about is why each wire goes where it does and why each gear is where it is.

FIRST is like a big roller coaster, that can only be experianced if one takes a ride which then becomes a liftime experiance.

First to me is about so many things...

Friendship - The friends and friendships you can make through this program are amazing. As for my team, spending all that time in the shop or in the house during "union" break time, you grow close to some of those people, introducing me at least to people I would have never talked to at school. I mean seriously, these people don't judge you for your crazy behavior after spending massive amounts of time with you. (The sophomore boys - yes the 'book' jokes) Then you have the people that you meet from Chiefdelphi or Tigerbolt in my case. Some of these people are so amazing that you know they care. (/me hugs)

Mechinical Work - If it wasn't for first, I know I wouldn't have ever learned how to use a lathe, milling, band saw, cutting torch and so on nor would I have understood how it is to get enough grim on your hands from the work pieces and cleaning and not having the grim come off your hands until days later and not caring about it. The orange cleaning stuff does not get everything off either. Also, FIRST has taught me how to fix things and think outside of the box in order to get parts made.

Teamwork - Being in FIRST makes you understand that everyone on the team needs to pull their weight. When one person or team fails it can affect the team as a whole. *cough*website team*cough* It also is helping when you teach another exactly how to do something and become enthralled in that learning experiance. (however, no one ever becomes as excited about the lathe as I D:)

FIRST encompasses so many different things...if I were to say
everything that is means to me I would prolly have a book.

Success isn't from winning nationals but from improving as a person or as team. Putting the minds together in order to get the job done is success.

Closer, but not quite. The key is understanding. You may know how to use triple integration to find volume, but do you know why it works and the the theories behind them (well, you probably do)? While ideas allow facts to spread to additional realms, it is understanding that allows for the creation of facts. Without understanding, there is no growing, no addional knowledge gained. Understanding leads to ideas which, in turn, lead to the facts which make the universe a better place. I challenge everybody to stop using math or physics formulas until they can first prove that it is correct.

In our family's case...
Our family rule is 2 extracurriculars. My stepson reluctantly at our insistence signed up for BeachNet (our high school's student run community ISP) and Robotics.

He did nothing at robotics except show up.

The VP made a very unpopular decision to pay for ss's trip to Nationals - the year they won the championship. One of the very rare times we've seen enthusiasm in ss.

Next year husband joins as computer guru mentor, to help his son stay in the program. Husband ends up working on the robot and LOVING it. My 17yo daughter joined also to help her less than gregarious stepbrother stay in the program. To everyone's surprise, she ends up working on the robot at the machine shop, co-drives at all the competitions, and president of robotics for the next season.

Season 2003 we go to year round program. I join in spring 2002. My 14yo goes to welding jr college class with her stepdad, and kicks his butt. Now my girls, my husband and I are thoroughly involved in robotics and my ss dropped out.

I've always felt grateful to the VP for making that unpopular decision. He couldn't have seen, and we didn't know, that decision would draw our family into the program.

I think about my ss when I get so frustrated with the few team members we've got who show up for the free food (food sponsors or me), for the promise of trips, and who try and often succeed to do nothing while there.

Some of those members truly have talents that can be put to use - either robotically or artistically. They just don't have "ownership" of the team or motivation yet to participate.

They haven't yet experienced a kick-off, the six weeks, or a competition.

I'll keep plugging. Who knows what will come of it.

It's simple: the competition is a breeding ground for engineers. You join, you go to an engineering school, you get a job in the engineering/technical field, you convince that company to sponsor, which recruits students to join. A beautiful virtuous cycle, until you step oustide it.

I hate to be harsh, but because of its inclusiveness, in its current form it is unable to handle any profession beyond its core. You don't truly see it until you've lived outside it.

Still watching,
Jessica B

Hmmmm..... my team doesn't have any sponsors that hired teamates from our team.

Ours either.

The cycle does not always come full circle.
Some students join, learn about engineering/whatever, then move on to bigger and better things. While it's true the competition is designed to mimic the "real" engineering world, it has other benefits as well. I feel it inspires students to LEARN, not necesarily learn about engineering.

Frankly, I've been gung-ho about engineering since I got involved in the competition. These days, I find myself thinking long and hard about working in the realm of education. This competition can also be a breeding ground for TEACHERS.

As for living outside the cycle. Well... hopefully I won't have to anytime soon, but one never can tell when the "burn-out" occurs.

It's nice to know your still watching Jess. It really is.

Well, it's Ken's birthday...I'm making an exception from my imposed hiatus.

What I'm trying to say is that the purpose of the competition is still very self-sufficient. They equate in the timeline of commerce to a farmer who grows just enough food for his own family, and has not yet achieved the point of realizing trade is possible.

The cycle does not always come full-circle. I am living proof. Though I thought it was ready, it has not come to the point where it is able to relate and support other professions as well as it does the technical fields. But because of the amount of energy and emotion that is necessary to be thouroughly involved, if a deviating choice is made by the student, the student is flung off the ride and comes smashing to the ground, dazed and confused since the support system that has been there for up to 4 high school years is just not capable of supporting them just yet. Though, we will not know when it is ready until someone tries and succeeds. So, unfortunately, it will keep happening.

There is nothing wrong with being self-sufficient, for I feel that the purpose of breeding engineers is a good one. It's just necessary for those who have not yet chosen.... be cautious when the time comes to make the choice whether to deviate or not.

-Jessica B

theres a quote in my doctors office that makes somewhat of a point about that.

"In 100 years it wont matter whether i drove a fancy car, lived in a big house, or had a lot of money. In 100 years what will matter is that i have made the difference in the life of a child."

Dean Kamen, even though he is uber rich, he probally started FIRST with something like this in his mind. Who's gonna give a rats behind whether i had fancy stuff, just as long as ive changed some kids life then ive done a good job.

-ian

Success to me is a feeling that is associated with achieving something you truly worked hard for; something that you can look at and say "That's my best work."

My definition of FIRST Success...
 

(The following events all happen today at our Sat. FIRST workshop)

Definition of FIRST Success:

1. Success is having a minority female senior student from a ghetto HS tells me that FIRST was the best thing that ever happen to her and she is planning to go to college and pursuit a technical career in multimedia.

2. Success is a student tells me that FIRST is more fun than play B-ball with his friends and technology is "cool."

3. Success is recruiting and inspiring a nontechnical female freshman student to join her school's FIRST. And she wants to do everything.

4. Success is having a FIRST student drag his parents into our workshop because he is so proud and happy to be a member of FIRST.

:D

Our teams main goal has always been to make sure the students learn something. Because in our view that's what FIRST really is, a learning exeperience above all else. No one on our team has been really thrilled by the trip to Disney (we're too busy at the competition to see any of the park except at meals).
Our team functions with engineers mentoring students, and that's the valuable part. Even if they don't go into an engineering field or anything technical, the hope is that they come away from the program after learning from it. As much as FIRST tries to encourage people to go into these kinds of fields, it isn't a recruitment tool. It's a school program, and schools are there so that we can learn.

Re: My definition of FIRST Success...
 

Awesome!!!
When my 17yo daughter joined her stepbrother's robotics team we had no idea how much she'd thrive. She worked on the robot at the machine shop, co-drove at all the competitions, and is president of robotics this year. It's the only extracurricular that "took".
Now my 14yo took a summer jr college welding class before her freshman year with her stepdad, and kicked his butt. She wants to do everything also.

Funny that I found this, as we had a long discussion about the aspects and spirit of FIRST today.

Dean Kamen started FIRST to inspire kids to go out and have fun inventing, creating, and persevere in the areas of math, science, and technology. What I am sure he only dreamed of was the growth of this great program, and the effect it could have on kids that don't even want to study in any of those areas.

I, myself, am a photojournalism major. Many people ask me why I am involved in a science and technology program when I can't do any of the technical work. There is indeed a lot to a FIRST team, as I am discovering by being a mentor/advisor- fundraising, marketing, planning, designing... I could keep going on and on. There are several ways to be on a FIRST team besides the actual building of a robot, everyone knows this. FIRST has spread to parents, teachers, and engineers nationwide, and as everyone knows, once you catch the FIRST bug, you're affected for life. There is no failure of FIRST if you don't inspire someone to be a better engineer, scientist, or mathematician. FIRST's spirit and inspiration is a gift, but it is not a gift that has limitations. If you inspire someone, it doesn't matter quite what they are inspired about, they're going to give it their all.

There is much pride to saying that one is on a FIRST team. Regardless as to what trophies are on the shelf or how many medals around your neck, every team should have an immense feeling of pride. Every child or involved has a story to tell about FIRST, how it changed their lives, and how it touched them. I honestly don't know how you can be involved in FIRST and never really get into it. It does happen, though. Events like the national championship should not matter when it comes to place, when it comes down to it. The nationals are where teams compete, true, but regardless if they have the nationals at Epcot or not, the true spirit of FIRST will be present. Kids who join just to go to Florida should not be kicked out of the team, in my opinion. As a mentor, if I encountered a child whose involvement was not geared toward FIRST and was instead based around a trip to Florida, I would work extra hard to inspire that person with FIRST. Extracurriculars are just after school activities. FIRST is a feeling, an inspiration, and a guideline for life. If half of these kids are as fired up about their engineering jobs in the future as they are for FIRST now, it would be worth all the effort, time, and money.

There are a lot of things which are done that people might not think are within the spirit of FIRST, but of the greatest, I think not allowing a child to enter a team is the worst that can be done. I realize that all teams have monetary restrictions, and I realize that some teams would have over a hundred members if they didn't restrict their membership. To me, this is just a cry for another team. Within our conversation about FIRST spirit today and after watching Dean's interview on 60 Minutes, I think one of the biggest injustices is refusing to inspire a child. I'm not just applying this to FIRST Robotics teams, I'm also talking about LEGO leagues, etc. There are schools that have two teams within them. It can happen. Honestly, I feel that if we have to deny a student the right to inspiration, that would truly be the failure of the team. If we can't afford to take that person on, I know that maybe I should try a little harder funding-wise to make sure that everyone can be a part...and if it becomes too much, maybe we should split into two teams. After coming from a successful team to having to start from literally nothing, I have a newfound determination to spread FIRST spirit everywhere.

I learned early on from two great mentors that FIRST really is all about the kids. True, winning is fun, but "winning takes place when students are inspired." I understand that not every team is capable of everything that I have written, and that every team is run differently. But I do know that if every mentor can touch one person and inspire them like that, we'll have a great future ahead of us.

Thanks.

I've already started helping the FIRST team in ways not even pertaining to the actuall building. Some kids on our team still don't know the huge amount of things that take make up FIRST other than building and competing a robot. PR and other things can make or break a robot. Poor advertising can ruin a team. Bad messages ('They don't listen to their alliance partners') can destroy any chances of inclusion of alliance pickings.

The pen's mighter than the soward.

Non-Enginerd
 

Amanda,
Have you considered documenting your experiences on a FIRST team as a photojournalism major? There are some who feel that FIRST has problems handling non-engineers, and you are certainly an example that defies that stereotype. Especially with your past team's success and your new role pulling together a new team. It might be something worth writing.

Just a thought...

PS - good luck with your team, if you want to know anything about how we organize things on the college FIRST level up here at Clarkson, just drop me an IM or email.

Amen, brother. Last year I competed on a rookie team at a neighboring school as a freshman (I was also the only underclassman on the team College Mentor: You"re a senior, right? Me: Uh...no...I"m a freshman...) This year I"m starting a team at my own school where the only teacher interested in sponsoring the team is an AP BIo teacher. Under her guidance, I"ve become a teacher of a class that meets once weekly. All I know is what I experienced through FIRST last year, but it"s still enough to get cynical students to stare slack-jawed at me while I explain building a robot.
I used to be one of those slackers whose grades were held up by test scores but dragged down by homework grades. This year I still don"t do HW, but that"s only because I spend so much of my time organizing classes, meetings with sponsors, and grant applications. I"ve spent the last two months getting students who have potential that they waste hacking into computers and NETSENDing the entire school messages like "i wiLl eAt alL yOuR cHilDRen" interested into building a robot. I showed them a kit I had ordered that consited of two wheels, a PC board, and two servos, and they couldn"t get their hands off of it for 10 minutes.
Success for me is getting these students to work towards success, instead of it to be handed to them. I"ve only had a taste of this, but I"m already addicted to the feeling of affecting someone"s life (who knows? they may someday be MY boss.) Any teachers here probably know what I"m talking about.

I became involved this year to discover I had an unknown to me flair for publicity and fundraising. There isn't a mechanical bone in my body. Team building, inspiration - yes, I can do that. I've got the FIRST bug.

My ss joined 2001 at our insistence, and did nothing the entire year except attend meetings. The VP made an unpopular decision paying for his trip to nationals where they won. First time I saw enthusiasm in my ss. It didn't stick, but it did get all the rest of his family in the program. I try to remember him when I feel periodic frustration with those who haven't got the bug and just want the trip.

We have rival schools united on one robotics' team. One of the schools tried to make a restriction - you have to have a 3.0 to participate.

The other school sought funding and said, "The Beach Cities Robotics team is composed of students from Mira Costa and Redondo Union High School. The Robotics program is open to all high school students, and has no grade point prerequisite. This allows us to recruit underachieving students as well as honors students. Students, who would not have otherwise pursued science or math, are drawn to this program by its unique, interesting, and enjoyable approach. Through participation in this program, the members receive experience in a variety of aspects of teamwork and robot building, resulting in the development of important and valuable life skills. "

So much for restricting membership.

Plain and simple...
 

I truly think that FIRST's message in it's entirety for its various members is non-existing! I think that FIRST is merely a tool used by each and every one of us to develope our own understanding of the message that this technological/reality relationship means to the futur. To actually specify a message for the program to portray is actually restricting FIRST's potential! "For Inspiration" (i believe) not only means to inspire new technologies from the minds of it's participants but to spark a plethera of positive outcomes of exposing technology to all who are involved.
In other words... You figure it out;)

Success, to me, is achieving not only your goal, but the goal of the whole as well, and I think that's what FIRST stands for. You can't be single minded and just look at the advantages for yourself; rather, for an effort to be successfull, it has to be broader and satisfy the conditions put forth while doing so in as graceful manner as possible. That can only be done through teamwork, with concerted efforts moving forward in unicen. Henceforth, success takes the cooperation, determination, and vitalities of many to be achieved fully in the realm of FIRST.

a thread I I did a while ago
 

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...&threadid=4149

Take a look at what people answered a long time ago.

Au contraire.

I think that the former thread was answered in the form of, "How does FIRST make me successful?"

This thread, which I am very fond of, is more in the sense of, "How has FIRST been successful in inspiring me, and is that truly where FIRST can base their success?"

We've had many discussions about the spirit of FIRST, no doubt. But honestly, there are so many people out there that are skeptical of FIRST and the whole idea of it, that it's necessary to show everyone what FIRST is and how it inspires.

FIRST is kind of like charity work... you are, even if only in some small way, helping our future just a little bit, and you get a great feeling from it. Even if you are just ringing a bell (or clapping MOE sticks together), you're helping. All that enthusiasm and inspiration at FIRST events isn't something that you can pass on to others- you have to bring them along, show them what truly is the success of FIRST, and let them get inspired too.

what is success?

success is tightening that last bolt or conecting that last wire on your robot

success is when that robot does what it was designed to do

success is when the at least 1 person on the team has FUN and LEARNS

success is when the at least one person realizes that there is more to FIRST than just building a robot

For Tantrum 2002:
success was finishing the modifictaions to our 2001 robot

success was seeing that 2001 robot play the 2002 game and move a 180 lb goal that it wasnt at all designed to move*

FIRST's purpose (to me):
to inspire kids to become involved in robotics and technology

to help kids establish a better feeling of team work

to allow them to meet new people from other teams they would have never met if it wasnt for FIRST


*= we werent an official team last year. We modified our 2001 robot and competed at River Rage so that we could recruit new members and get people some building experience

Success in FIRST cannot be measured by any one standard, but did it make a difference in YOUR life, did it somehow affect how you saw the world.

Success in FIRST is bringing tears to a machinists eyes when you recognize him for inspiring so many highschoolers when he was able to work with our team.

Success is learning to work in a group of people and compromise when needed.

Success is the sparkle in my little sisters eye when she sees what she can do when she gets to high school because her 3 older siblings already made it.

Success is inspiring high schoolers to get real world experiance through internships with their sponsors.

Success is a shy 17 year old girl being able to talk in front of a Steering Commitee at a big company to ask for sponsorship.

Success is the fun and excitement people have at competition, whether they are driving, in the pits, or cheering their team on from the sidelines.

Success is the massive amount of scholarship money colleges are willing to offer to students such as me who wouldn't be here if I hadn't recieved that money.

Success in FIRST can be measured in so many shapes and forms, I could go on all day and list off how FIRST has changed my life and many others around me, the point is that FIRST is successful, in so many different ways, even those kids who just join for a free trip, so what, they make a couple friends and feel accepted someplace, maybe thats what they wanted out of FIRST.

if.
 

If it grows big you only wnat it to grow bigger.
The goal of FIRST is no longer to make peolpe happy, its $.
Once the $ are made then they try making people happy.
Personally i believe the FIRST is an amazing experience, i'll do it as long as i can. But It is also a very fine example of our world.
$ + $ = $$....YAY!
what i mean is that it has become corporate...it is now a large scale project and as such it loses that "warm", "welcoming" feeling. I know many disagree with my view, But take this example: You play in the big leagues be it baseball...hockey....whichever. As a pro, you will always recall those days where you used an old broom stick for a bat....or the days spent in the street wacking a hockey ball around...

I might have lost myself in this whole argument :)
i simply tried to say that First is a business...it is still enjoyable, but i have a feeling that the purpose is not to make that 16 yearold learn some fun technology, but instead it is to take that 16 year old, and use him as a number...saying that you tought him great things.

Re: if.
 

The goal of FIRST is not money and if you think that you should really consider why your in FIRST. FIRST's goal is, and always has been, to give kids a chance at something they may never experience otherwise. It's to teach them that you can do something with your knowledge and be considered awesome rather than being considered a nerd(in a derogatory manner). FIRST and its participants don't look at how much money you have or what your wearing but put everyone on an equal, rectangular, playing field. That is why FIRST is moving NATS. Disney, no matter how much I love them, were making it hard for teams to come, and creating an unfair advantage for teams with a lot of money. And when there are unfair advantages nobody is happy.

FIRST is not about numbers either because no matter how many people are in FIRST they all aren't there for the right reason. But if there is one person, just one, who was able to say to themselves "Hey I'm not stupid! I can do this, I helped build this amazing machine!", even if the robot doesn't make it to finals but moves. Then that is the best number. Trust me in my first year when I looked at our robot and said "Oh my gosh i did it, I helped create this awesome machine!" my mentors and engineers weren't pulling out pieces of paper and marking a number but smiling and celebrating with me. And last year when I was able to finish the animation, with the help of everyone I could talk to(speacial thanx Brad, Frank, and Sunny), nobody was putting me down as a number or even thinking my animation would do as well as it did. But they treated me like the other animators who received an honorable mention.

FIRST is about learning, and equality. Yes there is money involved but everything has money, even your sports. We are in the days of the broomstick bat because after this are much more complicated machines, that we create. More team building, and games that aren't for points but to reach another planet. I hope you can see this because the success of the students, teachers, mentors, and engineers are the real successes of FIRST. The success of saying "I did it!":)

I did it! Thanks FIRST:)

~SHANA~

FIRST is a non-profit organization. Enough said =)

like Foley350 said success is seeing your robot from the past year able to accomplish a task from the current game. we used our previous years robot at one of our design meetings to pulla goal containing two 150 lbs kids.(boy is it fun to be dragged by a robot. try it sometime.)

success is not winning hardware (maybe the motorola quality award which we won in VCU last year) but having fun accomplishing what you set out to do. look at the most prestigous award FIRST has to offer. it isnt to the national champions, its to the chairmans award winners. the chairmans award winners could have come in last place but they put together a good video showing how FIRST has affected their lives as well as their community's lives as well.

Naaaa
 

The initial FIRST competition took place in 1992, where each team had a corporate sponsor. Most of those teams were conjured up by the corporate sponsor being challenged to take part in FIRST, and then going out to get a high school to mentor.

I would assume that there are actually a higher percentage of FIRST teams these days who don't have corporate sponsors... so I suggest that FIRST is becoming less corporate.

Corporate sponsors have always been involved in FIRST. Keep in mind that this is about inspiration. A big key in the success of FIRST is the fact that students get to work side by side with professionals.

On this note... one of the goals of our team this year is to go through all of our old videos and digitize them so that other teams can see the on-field history of FIRST. History... it's is a good thing to know.

Andy B.

Shana wrote,
“The goal of FIRST is not money and if you think that you should really consider why your in FIRST.”

Excuse me? I will kindly ask that you go back and reread every single post in this thread before you even consider posting again. It is exactly that attitude that was the impetus for this thread. In fact, the entire point was that I don’t think it’s fair that we tell anyone they’re in FIRST for the wrong reasons because, quite simply, you can’t possibly know what they get from it.

Now, with that said, I’ll address Martin’s post. I don’t think it’s fair to write it off immediately. While I don’t know that I entirely agree with him, I do think he has some valid points that people may not want to acknowledge. It’s understandable that we’d turn a blind eye to it, but everything has a seedy underbelly.

Martin wrote,
“what i mean is that it has become corporate...it is now a large scale project and as such it loses that ‘warm’, ‘welcoming’ feeling.”

There is merit to this, I think. As FIRST grows, if solely for organizational purposes, it becomes harder for teams to developed relationships, and it becomes harder for teams to feel familiar with FIRST’s staff. In the past, knowing a bit about 300 teams was possible. Now, I don’t think there’s anyone who knows all about the 800-odd teams that we’ve got popping up all over the place. There is a certain sense of alienation and it’s growing each year.

Does this really impact the ability of the program to do good?
Sure, money is certainly a factor. Companies want to see a return of investment on everything they do – and, while that may come in many forms, it’s still very important. This may mean that they see more people going into engineering, allowing them a more diverse pool of potential employees to choose from, or it may mean that their name is plastered all over a regional, or it may mean that they make contact with other businesses via their involvement in FIRST, and arrange business partnerships that have nothing to do with FIRST. I’ve seen all of these things happen.

But then, isn’t that all part of the plan? FIRST gives students myriad opportunities to enrich their high school experiences (and beyond), teaches them to see the world in all sorts of new ways, and does so while maintaining the interest of corporations, businesses, and CEO’s. Without them, FIRST wouldn’t work, so it only makes sense to cater to some of their needs.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that FIRST is entirely driven based off of financial concerns. Not yet. There are still good people out there doing this for some amazing reasons. Admittedly, though, I’ve also run into more than my share of people who’re involved for reasons that aren’t quite so altruistic. Still, in the end, all of these people work together, and so far, it seems like it’s been a positive experience for everyone.

Martin continued,

“i simply tried to say that First is a business...it is still enjoyable, but i have a feeling that the purpose is not to make that 16 yearold learn some fun technology, but instead it is to take that 16 year old, and use him as a number...saying that you tought him great things.”

I’d argue that FIRST is quite the opposite. It removes students from a situation where they’re nothing more than a statistic – an ID number, a Social Security number, a part of a high school’s percentage that go on to four year colleges – and it gives them an opportunity to shine as individuals. I’d imagine that, somewhere between the team meetings and ChiefDelphi, some of those individual achievements are lost, but I think they’re adequately recognized amongst team members. People become individuals with unique ideas, skills and personalities. Teams, too, take on some of these characteristics.

When you open a students eyes to the world outside the mainstream, you can’t stop them from being an individual. At least, to my line of thinking. There are too many great things out there in the world for people to get lost as a statistic. But, it’s our job to save them from that fate, I suppose.

Shana wrote, in response to Martin,

“FIRST and its participants don't look at how much money you have or what your wearing but put everyone on an equal, rectangular, playing field. That is why FIRST is moving NATS. Disney, no matter how much I love them, were making it hard for teams to come, and creating an unfair advantage for teams with a lot of money. And when there are unfair advantages nobody is happy.”

Again, I’d disagree. This is outside the scope of this thread, and I know it’s a topic nobody really wants to get into, but there is socio-economic stratification within FIRST. It shows up everywhere, from robot appearance to materials selection to regional attendance. It’s unavoidable, unless FIRST can someday supply everything to every single team.

The reality is that success attracts money and support, and those things encourages success. It’s not a law of nature, exactly, but it certainly seems true a lot of the time.

Shana continued,

“FIRST is not about numbers either because no matter how many people are in FIRST they all aren't there for the right reason.”

::M shakes fist angrily::

“But if there is one person, just one, who was able to say to themselves "Hey I'm not stupid! I can do this, I helped build this amazing machine!", even if the robot doesn't make it to finals but moves. Then that is the best number. Trust me in my first year when I looked at our robot and said "Oh my gosh i did it, I helped create this awesome machine!" my mentors and engineers weren't pulling out pieces of paper and marking a number but smiling and celebrating with me. And last year when I was able to finish the animation, with the help of everyone I could talk to(speacial thanx Brad, Frank, and Sunny), nobody was putting me down as a number or even thinking my animation would do as well as it did. But they treated me like the other animators who received an honorable mention.”

Agreed. And, to take it further, there are so many other amazing definitions of success that to try to quantify them at all – or, even explain them – seems futile.

Very well said! I believe that M. Krass has a great outlook on FIRST and what it stands for.


It is indeed unfortunate that you feel FIRST is a money-driven corporate organization. I hope that maybe, your mentor or a member of your team can spark your imagination, have your eyes light up with inspiration, and have your heart set on inspiring others as they inspire you.

First is definately not a money driven program. it is here to give high school kids different kinds of role models (or so Dean says...)

p.s. how long did it take you to type that M.Krass?!?

Have I meet you before Michael? :)

Great writing and a better rebutal than most presidents can give.

Back to your regulary scheduled post.

FIRST isn't about money, but it's still a huge equation. Unlike a profit orginazation, money is a hinderence, not a plus. The plus instead of money is the teaching of kids. Something more important than any covercharge or party. Something that crosses boundaries, not financial statements.

I guess what I'm saying is this; FIRST switched money and inspiration to form a truely unique orginization.

Why is it necessary to define it? Can't it simply be allowed to be whatever it is? Success as related to FIRST (and many things in life) isn't the same for any 2 people - sometimes, that is even true if they are the same team. Personally, Success to me is my belief that I'm making a difference.

Well, my intent wasn't to even attempt to arrive at any single definition of what success may comprise of - as I'd agree that any such definition would be limited in at least some sense.

Instead, I hope that by sharing a bit about how we each perceive FIRST and its successes, we may go a long way toward deconstructing some of the more resilient, limiting concepts that are traditionally associated with this.

I hope those people who see FIRST only as an engineering competition to look further and see that it has affected people in far greater, far more important ways. I want people who consider success to be a series of awards lined up in some trophy case to understand that FIRST can support their ideals and the ideals of others - and, in fact, probably couldn't exist without that dichotomy.

I don't think I'm trying to propose anything new or radical or unknown, but rather remind everyone (and maybe myself) that there are as many reasons for being here as there are students, and to put that on display for all to see.

Diversity is strength. Diversity adapts to change. Homogeneity in thought and action will stall this movement, I think. So, again, I'm not trying to encapsulate success in any certain terms, but just stir the pot a little and see what rises to the top.

I don't think FIRST can have a simple definition besides teaching high school students teamwork, engineering skills, and above all gracious professionalism. Is there really anything more to it?

The question is, has FIRST succeeded? Has FIRST touched the lives of high school students, inspired engineers, and given society a new and promising future? Indeed it has, and FIRST has done it all with style.

In time, we will know if FIRST has succeeded or not. It is one thing to inspire a bunch of kids into going to college and many more things about science and technology, team work, and life. It is another thing to change the culture and become a part of it.

I remember Dean once said (and repeated many many times afterward) that "in a 100 years, it won't matter how much money you have in your bank, or how many cars you own." I see that in a bigger meaning that, if you don't do something that keep going, then eventually it won't matter at all.

Don't get me wrong. FIRST have done wonderful things to inspire many many students already. But just like any FIRST teams, if your program aren't sustainable by itself, it will eventually perish and stop affecting people's lives.

I think there are 2 level of success in FIRST. The 1st level is just what everyone else said, when everyone are able to get the most out of this program and have a positive influence on all the participants. And that's what FIRST and teams achieved so far.

Then the 2nd level is to build a sustainable program that will continue to influence all the participants in the future. And some teams have achieved that, just look at the 10, 11, 12 years teams... But not every team is like this...

I said, in time, we will know if FIRST has succeeded or not, because right now I cannot see what's going to happen in 10, 20, 50 years, etc. Will FIRST continues to have enough sponsors to expand its program? Will FIRST be big enough that every high school will have a FIRST team? Will FIRST get enough acknowledgements that all the high schools will integrate it as a part of school curriculum? Will FIRST be accepted by everyone just like Sports?

...


My hope is, in the future, there won't be anymore wars in the world, and instead, every student will compete in FIRST and similar programs, to try to make themselves a better person, and at the same time make a positive difference to the rest of the world. But that's just a dream of mine. Maybe one day there will be enough people doing similar things who will agree with me that this will happen... Maybe there won't be.

If we are able to focus on the most important values and experience, and pass them onto future generations as stepping stones to build and expand on top of, and them doing the same to their future, then not only are we successful in affecting lives, but also in affecting our society’s future. And that, I believe, is a good direction to work hard toward in trying to change the world to a better place.

Mean while, not even for a second have I doubted how successful FIRST has been. I am extremely grateful of what happened to me because of this program, and I am willing to work hard to help programs like this expand and affect more teenagers like the kid I used to be.

good stuff...
 

Good Stuff....

I agreed 100%.
(you would make a good Chairman's Award writer)

:D

This is perhaps the best thread of the 2003 season so far.. Awesome comments by nearly everyone!

I agree with Ken's quote above, but I'd expand the 2nd level, changing it to "... influence all of society in the future".

When Dean set out to change the culture, I think that he means a culture where technical pursuits are recognized and encouraged in the media and everyday conversations as much or more than the entertainment and sports industry are today.

I see some change in this direction already, with some papers and TV News covering more hard science and technology issues with greater detail than ever was present before. Let's all look forward to seeing some of the front page stories about sports and entertainment being replaced with news about the FIRST championships or the National Medal of Technology recipients. How about a daily Technology Section like most news outlets have with Sports and Entertainment?

Define success?!?
This is one of the great variables of the universe. If you have a student pick up a drill for the first time and drill a hole for a pop rivet, have you not achieved success? If you have made male and female students aware that this competition has no gender bias i.e. both can build, program, drive have you not achieved success? If you win, but students never worked on the robot or participated in team activities, did you achieve success? If you lose and every student goes to college have you succeeded? In my mind this program is not about great miracles, although they happen from time to time. It is about the quiet events that happen everyday. Those things are too small to measure in the BIG picture.

I realized a long time ago that it wasn't one person who turned me into what I am today. It is the thousands of people who have "bumped" me towards the path I now walk. I thank the teacher who encouraged me, the cousin who suggested, the interviewer who didn't interview me, the brother who smiled at me, the parents who provided for me. I thank the workers who hauled coal and dug ditches when I was younger for showing me hard jobs. I thank the optometrist who said I could not become a pilot. (not to mention air sickness.) The list goes on and on.

As to the student who professed being on the team to go to Florida, did he not learn that working with others does have it's rewards? Did he not see and learn and experience new things while in the nationals? I can hear you thinking "Yea right, we have a guy on our team just like that!" But do you know for sure he didn't get something out of the experience?

I know that we are successful if we get one student to decide on an engineering career, but we are also successful if we get a student to realize that engineering is not for them. With the many opportunities a person is faced with today, being able to narrow the choices is very important. Still more important is the self confidence that being part of a team gives, the ability to perform a function and be recognized for the effort. The ability to achieve goals, no matter how small, will lead to bigger things. I challenge students to learn just one new thing each day, something I have challenged myself to do. Do not go to sleep if you haven't achieved that goal. It's not that hard, but for someone on a team it happens naturally everyday.

A wise man once related this proverb...
A man met someone, and they exchanged dollars, when they parted, they each had a dollar.
A man met someone, and they exchanged ideas, when they parted, they each had two ideas.

Good luck everyone,

Practibility of success...
 

If success is taking knowledge and turning it into something useful (whether its merely creating a robot or inspiring somebody's life) and we continue to learn throughout our lives, can success ever be achieved? Is success reaching a goal, or is it changing that goal (or the goal changing itself) whenever you approach it? As the adage goes, "Success is a journey, not a destination."

depending on the goal
 

It really depends on the goal. If the goal is, say, "Inspire 200 students during the year of 2003 about science and technology", then sure it is possible to achieve that goal and be successful.

On the other hand, if the goal is "to change our culture and make it better and better", then it will be a continuous journey once you started. Every year, we can only say "we were able to make a difference that things are better than the past years." by knowing how much is done and compare it to the past. Or, we can say "We are able to set things up so that we can continue to try to achieve the goal." by making sure the program keep going in the future and improve & expand on top of the past and not fall back in progress.


So...

It really depends what goals you have. Sometimes, you can aim for a goal so high that its impossible for you to achieve it, but in the process you can say you are successful because you did the best you can and get the most out of all the work you did to achieve the goal. Some other times you can aim for a goal so low that, you could easily achieve it without much work, then even though you are successful in achieving the goal, you still didn't get all that much out of it, which is fine if the you are satisfy with the result.

At the end, it’s different from person to person depending on how happy they are about the result.

My feeling is that there are two kind of goals: your normal objectives that are designed to be achievable, and your vision that you look at for guidance when you don't know which path you should choose.

Once you figure out what each of those 2 is, then you can set out to achieve your objectives, while setting up more objectives in the future that follow your vision.

Then you can say you are successful because: 1. you achieved the objectives, 2. you set things up so you can continue to walk the journey guided by your vision while exploring different things to help define a better vision.

And maybe, success is just to have results you are happy about, even though it’s a bit general. But its true. ;)


Anyway, In terms of FIRST, the objectives every year (for now anyway) are:

to expand the program to as many students as possibles
start more regionals around the country
Inspire all, say, 600 teams' student about science and technology and other important values.

These goals you can clearly say if you achieved them or not.

Mean while, the mission continues to be:

To build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology and engineering by designing accessible, innovative programs.

And the vision:

To make our culture better and better.