What is the role for team alumni?
 

I've been reading threads for some time now and our team was recently approached by several college students looking for a team to join and it got me thinking. What is the role for team alumni?

I don't know about you but one of the dreams my crew has expressed is a network of alumni acting as supporters of the regional system and mentor guides for new FIRST teams.

Wouldn't it be great of the corporate powers that be could form a pool where new teams could get a regional registration and not have to kill themselves just trying to raise the entry fee. The team can then concentrate on developing a relationship with a local company and the alumni mentor could be the guide helping both the school and engineers through their first season.

We've seen these types of grants from NASA and Kleiner Perkins. I dream of someday having a system in place for ALL of the country for this. The alumni students are just the enthusiastic people that can make this happen.

What are your opinions? How can we keep these alumni working? What are they capable of? What are they willing to do?

I would relish your ideas here.

WC :cool:

Alumni are great to have. They help spread the word and are very useful to teams. For my team they help point us in the right direction if we are off track. They teach you a lot and can talk to you on a more personal level. Some can understand things that coaches can't. There are many uses for them.

I feel like I am the team....

I'm an alumni from 238....was on FIRST all 4 years of high school, and have still supported it the 3 years I've been in college now....I wish i was closer to my alma mater to help out more....but I'm still there in spirit, I go to meetings when I can...I help out during kick off, cause I'm home for break....I try to go to the regionals...

I try to help them out by letting them know whats happen years before, giving them ideas, fundraising and such...I come on here ALOT to give them updates, cause no one on the team does...

Its hard...but someones gotta do it :)

My plan is to not join a team after I graduate. I really doubt I'm coming back to this team and I don't plan on joining another team. I still want to be involved in FIRST so I may lurk around at competitions and see if I can't be a part of the crews or anything like that. Out of curiosity, how might one sign up for a regional crew or something?

You can visit http://www.usfirst.org/volunteer to sign up to help out.

I was on team 100 for 4 years and then went to college in LA area 2 years ago. For the last 2 years a former member from 114 and I helped start up a team near our college. I love helping 968 but it is a lot of work. The hardest part is that we don't have any engineers other then travis and myself. Not to mention money.

~Kirk

Start a new team :D

Officially, I am an alumni from 365, but I have been classified as an adult mentor (but only when I do something wrong - "You're an adult mentor! You're supposed to set an example!").. Since I was the driver and team captain for 2001, they think I have some sort of knowledge to pass on to the other drivers - so I was a big part of the driver selections for GeroniMOE and now I'm the coach. Its not quite driving, but it is cool, none the less. It is also cool when the team rookies bow down to me just because I am an alumni. :D

What went wrong with our team?
 

Sounds like all you other fellow alumni at least have a position. On our team we are classified as just alumni and will probably never be given positions or respect.

^^ well thats like me...I'm just classified as an alumni....I just try to think of positions for myself....lol

Alumni are always welcomed at our meetings, however, some of them have been more of a detriment than a help to us. Some very heated arguments have taken place between the current and former students during brainstorming and/or build sessions. The alumni think that they have a better idea of what our team should do than the current students and the current students feel infringed upon. I tend to side with the current students, and have gone so far as to prohibit some alumni from attending our meetings, especially during the initial stages of design and build. This is the current students' club and they should have every opportunity that the alumni had when they were members.
I'd like to have alumni visit us more during the Fall to share their experiences with the new members of the team. Then, lay off a bit, especially during the brainstorming sessions the first week or so after the kickoff. I believe that alums place at the competitions better serves us all if they are volunteers that help to run the events so that the current students have every opportunity that you had when you were here.

As a student, I believe that a mentor is great to have around, especially if they have been on a team before. My team, 648, has two college mentors. They are great. They give advice on everything and will help wherever necessary.

Thanks,
Budda648

Our team has rather active alumni. Several of us volunteered at the Richmond regional the past two years, and at other regionals near our respective colleges (eg Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). I myself was a mentor with the team this year. Other of the alumni have been mentoring the teams associated with their colleges. Also, most of our alumni have stayed on the email list for the team and offer help whenever possible. The team treats the alumni as any other team member would be treated.

Alumni are a great resource. They have both the experience of being on the team, and the knowledge from some college classes that can help tremendously. As to what they are willing to do, it depends on the person and their area of expertise. Talk to them, get to know them. If they've offered to help, it shows initiative that can be put to good use, I'm sure.

Starting New Teams
 

I am not a FIRST alumnus because there were no FIRST teams in the greater Milwaukee area when I was in high school. When I started at Milwaukee School of Engineering, I met two eager alumni from two different FIRST teams that wanted to start a team in the Milwaukee area. I knew a FIRST team would work out well at my former high school and soon after a new FIRST team was born.

Those two eager alumni turned out to be Kevin Kolodziej of Team Hammond (#71) and Lauren Halatek of Team Wildstang (#111). I have had the pleasure of working with these two FIRST Alumni and a few other college students to form, mentor and run a new team: Team Wild Beast (#1064). Kevin and Lauren have put in an exorbitant amount of time and effort into starting and running this team with only the help of a couple of college students and two Tech Ed/Shop teachers.

Thank you Kevin and Lauren

Being alum on my team, 157, I teach a lot of the kids how to use machines, why things work, why use use certain things. Just pointing them in the right direction, but still having them do all the work. Feels pretty good, but i still havn't got use to not being able to drive :(

I am starting to wonder that myself

Alumni rock
 

i'm an alumnus, and i get to do cool stuff, i get respect from current students (at least the ones who know what's best for them :D ) and i get to go places with the team. they hooked my up with a hotel, and a crew position at annapolis, i get to fix old robots (i love lil' moe :) ) it's a lot of fun i might add. plus, i still know what i'm doing, so they let me in on the new bot fixing too. it's cool chilling with some of my friends from the team, and i'm not tied down, cause i'm not a student. it's like the best of everything combined into one position.

Our team is rather unusual, ...I think. EVERY alumni has an active position as an adviser in charge of one area of our team. This has been a GREAT help to me, (I'm the adviser), and to our team as well. I hope that next year we can continue with this 100% rate!

I guess that I should also point out that we're a second year team, and Lindy, our programming adviser, is our only alumni. He does a fantastic job! ;) Thanks, Lindy!

Team 68's alumni
 

well, some of our alumni help out in fundraising, and act as junior advisors to the team. Or, they show up to support our team at regional events. Primarilly, the join other teams closer to their colleges.

Thanks Mark!

RUSH'S Alum committed to....
 

Our Alumni are always welcome home! Just because they graduate, does not mean they are no longer part of the Team!! This year 2 of our Alum are now mentors(when not bogged down with studies) Several of our kids have gone out and either successfully started teams or are trying to. 857 is our sister team. Several students went up to MTU and joined Anthony's mission to get Tech involved in FIRST. Another student went off to CMU to try to start a team, and is still trying. And one of our drivers from last year is starting a team at U of M. We always have a gathering of Alumni at Christmas and at the Past/Present/Future Picnic in the summer. Kyle Hughes, our team leader and teacher extrodinaire, demands that the students go out after graduation and return the investment the community put into them. We are very proud of the accomplishments our Alumni have achieved. This Team's focus is their success as responsible, civil adults who believe they can make a positive difference in this world. They are the reason we all do FIRST. :cool:

Since U of Del has most of the winter off (long winter semester i dont plan on attending) I helped in the build phase as an Electrical Mentor. It has been a strange experience but rewarding experience. I am used working on everything that needs to be done on the electrical team. Now my mentor tells me I cant touch anything, the students (almost all rookies) have to do it all. After I got used to yielding to the student, I rather enjoyed seeing them work. After a regional where they didnt need me at all, and in fact fixed other bots without my help, I am very proud of them. I now get to see the competition from somewhere other than my own pit. The leading electrical mentor is leaving this year so I plan to help fill his place next year.

Untapped Alumni Power
 

Hahahaha i just thought my team was just full of jerks or something like that hahaha I'm the first ever Alumni to come back to the bagel byte 702, a rag tag team by all definitions but I'm dedicated to bring them to greatness... have bagel bytes as well know as the titans of the FIRST like truck town, Beatty, or kingman, moe ... haha y not Culver? hahahahaha

Anyways i came back for 2003 and i was constantly reminded of how limited i am and how i should back off cuz "its not my Robot its theres" so I'm like wut the heck im soo dedicated and know my stuff and been there and know wut to do but yet wut happen?

All alumni members how are fed up with there alumni First experience say " I "

Frankly it seem most of us that cant get first out of our skin were willing to do alot and do eve more just for a chance to have or roles in teams like we used to have them so i Propose FIRST allow all college teams of alumni.... team composed of networks of students from all over a generals areas cities counties, even states it been great.. since all members would be alumni and know alot about at lease some parts or a robotics team these team would be very organized strong united and very skillful ... it bring a new level of greatness to the FIRST legacy... maybe even start this as soon as new year .....

If you agree or don't or have thoughts plz share


-Oscar-:D

Going to a college still near my high school, I had planned on being an alumni on my old team. This didn't work though because of some disagreements between the students of what I should be doing. I still love my old team very very much, but I just don't quite fit there anymore. I would love to start a new team, or to help out one of the newer teams in my area, but I have no way of getting a ride anywhere. I'm volunteering for the SBPLI Regional (I'll be the pit announcer, thank you Christina!), but I still missed FIRST throughout the entire building period. Anyone have suggestions for me?

Well this is wut im talking about... cuz i know wut you mean and im sure a large amount of alumni eel this way... im not sure y it happens tho but you long for the days when you actually fit into the team and spent those nights till Wea' hours of the morning cutting out parts for your wonderful wonderful robot ... i miss it thats y college alumni teams would be so great we get it and i dont think we would exclude ourself like the high school teams are doing student runned and operated... but i dont know if FIRST would allow something like this tho ummmm

Comments?


-Oscar-;)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...threadid=19365

I posted a Poll Dedicated to this The Question What is the role for team alumni?

Add comments and vote

-Oscar-

i feel this way as well...i mean there are students that want me to be there...and then i go and other ones just rolls their eyes at me...like "why is she here"

I just went to the BAE regional...and I was cheering on the team, a few of them cared...while the rest kinda just looked at me, and were like..."shes crazy, why is she cheering..." and were extremely rude and obnoxious towards me....these people also weren't cheering anyway, so when i told them to cheer, they were extremely rude and said mean things....

whatever.....i love the team, i love FIRST...i'm gonna keep supporting it....even if the team hates me :)

The biggest role
 

I think the best thing the alumni can bring to the team is the real spirit of FIRST and gracious professionalism. just from the above post.....the new students don't have aclue and don't really care. I've noticed a big change in the spirit of FIRST because of students like the ones that aren't cheering and stuff. As alumni, whether I have any postition on the team or not, I instill in our students the real meaning of FIRST! I encourage all to do the same!

You have to train the rookies to cheer, most will not pick it up on their own. Make up a team cheer and have them do the cheer every time something goes right during the build phase. It works well if one person can start the cheer by shouting something. If a Miracle Workerz hear a team member yell our call (sounds kinda like "Oh-A-Oh-Oh") they naturally follow with our cheer ("Oh-A-Oh-Oh" clap-clap clap-clap-clap clap-clap-clap-clap "GO MOE"!). Anyone can theoretically start the cheer but most people dont do the call correctly so the team feels more like laughing than cheering, so Vince does it a majority of the time. The trick is to scream the call at the top of your lungs while pronouncing it correctly. I have done it several times but I failed miserably my first time.

I am alumni from 639. Still on the team except now I have POWER. Sweet, sweet power.

People know me, and most of the time dont listen to me, unless I yell, but I help out as much as possible and try to teach people new things.

I had to respond to this one. I am not an alumna of a FIRST team, but I got involved through one of my professors during the 2001 season. In the past year, I was moved from "Mentor" status to Asst. Coach of two teams, the one I was originally with and a new one that the prof's daughter is now on. At any rate, enough history.

This season has proven a great challenge to me. There was a huge influx of new students (the team has around 48 students), many of whom are learning how to deal with other people, as well as designing and building a machine. The real problem for me, however, was the ongoing conflict between myself and one student in particular. I was initially asked to head up the Drive System, as I did last year, but I quickly realized that if I stayed on it, nothing would get accomplished. Therefore, I bowed out of that system. (I was then asked to be on another subsystem, but a professional engineer came that day, and I again realized that I would hinder things if I stuck with that group.)

So, where did that leave me? It left me here: Team Historian, Photographer (non-digital by my choice), and general assistant to the high school coach and prof. I was not very happy with this because, like many of you, I wanted to get involved in designing and building the robot. After all, I am an engineering student at a university.

But, more and more, I am realizing that these jobs needed to be done. Whether it was to give the coaches some sanity or just document what the team has done, these jobs provided the team with a service that I can continue with next year, along with helping on a particular subsystem.

My point (and i think I have one ;) ) is that there are MANY jobs that need to be done on a team. An alumna should be able to help out and get some sort of satisfaction from helping in an administrative position and acting as a resource for the team, as well as working on the design and building of the robot. Basically, DON'T THINK that the design and building of the robot is the ONLY thing worth being around for.

I gutted out this year and will continue with both teams next year (even if I have to sacrifice some school time). From this year, I can only hope that I have learned some lessons in dealing with others that I know I wouldn't have learned in a classroom. For next year, I hope that I can continue to learn and grow, both in engineering and in dealing with human interactions.

In the meantime, I will travel to the SoCal and National Competitions and cheer for a robot that I had no hand in designing or building, other than to get some of the raw materials.

Sorry for the long post, but I just had to put my two-cents in.

indieFan
email indieFan@yahoo.com

here's my advice... i'm really good at this kinda thing, but if you want to win your team over for cheering and stuff, you gotta be funny about it. i didn't know half of my former team going into annapolis, but they sure all knew me when we left. you have to make a statement that is... for lack of a better word... attractive and trendy, and you have to have a confident attitude about it. you have to be funny and make your self look stupid. when i walked into a meeting last year with the first bright green bandana, i got some really strange looks, but i approached it with the such an attitude that made them laugh and look where the bandanas are today, they were in high demand last year at Nat's. you have to be confident, don't let them get to you. maybe you look dumb, but you're having fun, and it's contageous.

There is a huge potential of what team alumni can do out there. From mentoring teams, to volunteering at comeptition, to help running organization of teams.

I did all three of them.

There are few things to consider:

1. When the alumni graduate from high school, they usually move onto college. Sure, it is tons of fun to keep doing FIRST, but there's also a huge amount of opportunity of meeting new people at the college, and participate in different kind of projects, etc.

2. When the alumni graudate from high school, it's the remaining students' turn to run the team, and get their experience in leadership and being the mature person in the team.

3. Alumni have the chance to pass on their knowledge to younger team members when they didn't have time during competition time.

4. Alumni can enjoy the competition much more compare to when they were in high school, because they have a few years of experience in them, and because they don't have to worry about getting into colleges.


All in all, I think alumni should do what they want. After all, we are just spending our time in something worthwhile that will help us learn and grow. Depending on your situation, and where you live, you may choose to help out your own team, or just stay back and volunteer at a regional, or just going to the competition as a spectator.

Here are my advices:

1. For those of you who want to go back to your own team. Let the students take the leadership role, and act as a mentor in giving advices and support to them. You might even consider acting like a teacher and give back what the team gave you when you were in high school. That way, you get all the fun, and none of the stress.

2. Also, try not to burn yourself out by doing too much at once, like building a robot 4am in the morning with a midterm waiting for you in 4 hours. When you strike the balance between FIRST and school, that's when you will get the most out of the experience. Mean while, try not to step away from school too much, because you might regret what you could've done while you are in school.

3. A really worthwhile experience for me is my time spend in Western Regional Robotics Forum. When you graduated high school, you are free to spend your time in FIRST as a non-team person. You energy might be more worthwhile spending in something that will help all teams instead of just one.

4. Depending the need of your regional, you may want to volunteer yourself to help run the regional competition. I know people like Nate Smith, Steve Shade, Christina and many others spend their time helping FIRST in running events. It could potentially give you some insights into why FIRST do things the way they do, and shows you things behind the scene.


My last advice is, the few years after you graduate high school is when you figure out the direction of your life. Make sure you don't waste any moment of it. The things you will be doing will shows you what you want or don't want to do, and you will meet some of the coolest people who will be your friends for life. Make use of this time, and FIRST, and any other things you passed by, and get the most out of it, and pay attention to the way you are learning and growing.

Have fun!

so am i !!!

From an adult alumnus
 

I am a seven year alumnus from Team 45, Technokats. I retired from Delphi and am now in Florida during the FIRST season, so being kind of addicted to FIRST as I am, I joined rookie Team 1062 in Celebration, FL. It has been a totally different experience from being with an established team like TechnoKats, but it has been fun. My new team is not going to the Big Event at Houston, so I have volunteered to be a referee, but I don't know if they want me yet. If not, I'll just hang out and take it easy.

Kit
Nice to see you back with FIRST.