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FIRST after Highschool
Being a high school senior, It's beginning to hit me that this will be my last year as a team member (that's not a mentor). I searched the threads and couldn't quite find something I was looking for so I'm here to ask the alumni and post highschool FIRSTers,
In your freshman year of college, should you mentor a FIRST team or take a year break to get settled? The choices I've figured out are: -Take a break from robotics by mentoring but continue by volunteering/attending events. -Mentor a team -Not mentor at all to settle in first year of college and get involved again the following year I'm honestly just trying to figure out the pros and cons of a decision to mentor a FIRST team right away. For those who took a break: Why did you take the break? What benefits do you think you gained from it? and for those who continued with FIRST by mentoring a team right away: What do you think were problems you encountered? Do you feel like you had time to adjust and be a mentor at the same time? Of course, anything additional you'd like to add to your answer is fine. Thanks all in advance!, Nica |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
Hopefully I don't get too much flak for saying this...
I know it's hard to believe, but there actually IS life after FIRST. Part of going to college is about moving on and learning new things. FIRST is great fun in high school, and there is some very impressive engineering that happens... but it is a High School robotics competition. Depending on where you go to school there are certainly other bigger, more involved projects to get caught up in. These are the things that FIRST has prepared you to go off and do. It would be a shame to miss them because you were still hanging around FIRST refusing to let go. I graduated in 2002. I stayed in contact with my team, but I did no mentoring the entire time I was in college. I am very glad I did. I got absorbed in the DARPA Grand Challenge. I branched out and learned many different things. Last year I volunteered at a regional event and started to get involved again. Hopefully next year I'll start to get more involved and mentor a team. But when I mentor, I will actually be participating as an experienced mentor, bringing NEW ideas from other projects to the table. There is not going to be a question of if I'm a mentor or just an older student. I highly recommend taking a break from FIRST. It really is for your own good. Go out and find something new to get excited about. Find a problem to solve in the world that's more free-form than FIRST. It will make you a better Mentor down the road. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
This is a very important consideration. You can search CD for FIRST alumni who have said something on this topic. Many students have graduated and royally messed up their college grades. Once you enter college, you are in a whole different world. I think everyone should remember the big picture in that FIRST really is designed so that you can grow up and excel in different fields. Dean Kamen really wants people to become entrepreneurs and inventors and people of high value. To do this, it is OK to not do FIRST for a few years. There are other ways to support this cause. I know there are students who graduated from our team (25) who have grown up to become important people in their respective fields and society.
With all that said, in college, students should always consider their grades a priority. No one is going to hire you if you have a -5.9 GPA and a ton of FIRST experience. We also need to remember that there are other things in this world such as family, friends, the whole college experience etc etc. On the other hand, if you do decide to participate in FIRST during college, make sure that your first priority is your grades. I was able to do FIRST comfortably last year (my first year) because my classes got canceled due to logistical things at college. It was unfortunate but I had no choice. It let me participate actively. This year is different though so I will not be as active. You should also consider the money commitment it takes to be in FIRST. It costs a lot to be a part of college already, and on top of that doing FIRST will inevitably cost a lot. For some teams, alumni get paid to be a part of the team due to their expertise. The reason I still participate is because of the value I get out of being a part of team 25. It is an environment where I can grow and help others grow. What I am trying to say is make sure you have a clear cut reason as to why you want to continue to do FIRST. Simply contributing to society is great but you need a plan or at least thoughts for your future or else you will end up where the waves take you and that may not be very pretty. As a final thought, I'd say you should make your decision after/during your first semester. A lot of it depends on the college you are going to and what your goals in life are. It is not usually one choice that messes people up but rather a series of choices. A series of choices can also make their life. So consider all factors when you make a series of choices. Remember that FIRST will be around when you graduate college so if that is where your focus needs to be, then so be it. Good luck. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I'm a senior this year as well. I know I'm going to be in the area next year, so I'll definitely want to help out my team. That's mainly because I really like everybody on it (well, almost). I probably won't come in quite as often, but it's probably not harmful to stick with your team for another year. You just have to set priorities.
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Re: FIRST after Highschool
First, there was this thread, highlighting the pros and cons of mentoring a team right out of high school.
Personally, I'm doing my best at the moment to stay in touch with my team, while only being a little bit involved. I'll be at some of their events to act as support and photographer, but nothing too strenuous or time consuming (though I wish I could do more). Unfortunately, there are only 24 hours in a day! Because freshman year is such a dramatic transition from high school, mentoring a team may require too much time and could interfere with your studies. Grades, as much as we don't like to say it, take precedence over FIRST. Just like FIRST is a learning experience, so is college. Check around the forums- there have been many people in your shoes. But ultimately, it's your decision. If you do choose to take a mentoring break, there could be a robotics related club at your school or at least like-minded people. Of your choices, I'd say pull back a bit from mentoring and concentrate more on volunteering and attending events, just to stay involved in FIRST. Once you're more acclimated to your surroundings at college, and can properly time manage (a very important thing) then you could find it easier to come back to mentor, or give it your all, for your team. There are other factors as well, such as proximity of school to your team. My team is 100 miles and a 2 hour drive for me, so instantly the role of mentor wasn't a possibility. However, I can still attend weekend events and such. I went through that same tough transition last year, coming to realize that it was my last year as a student member of a team. However, there are so many options. If you're adamant about staying in FIRST, definitely volunteer. They're always looking for good, knowledgeable volunteers. After my first semester, it became quite clear I couldn't devote all my time to my team, so I have decided to get involved in other ways..volunteering, do photography when I can for my team, doing Dean's homework.. On the flip side, a break could help you get everything in order at school, without having to worry about robot deadlines, or missed school thanks to regionals (my professors may not like me going to 3 regionals and Atlanta). (Sorry that jumps around a bit, my mind's a bit foggy at the moment :o ) But I'm sure whatever you choose will be beneficial for you! Good luck on your decision and I hope you find happiness in it! :D |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I'm a freshman in college this year. The first time I went back to my old team was this winter break, aka, when I had no classes and grades to mess up. When second semester starts next week, back to college I go and no more FIRST for me until spring break, where again I can't mess up my grades and classes when going to the VCU Regional. The only contact I'll have in between then is simply following the team's progress via our online forums. Hard to force myself to disregard grades over replying to a topic that'll still be there the day after. :)
It's just a matter of putting class before everything else.(Something I didn't do senior year of high school too well, learned my lesson there :ahh: ) |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
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Wow, after searching things like "mentoring after high school" "FIRST after high school" "mentoring in college" and such, I didn't find that thread, but I'm incredibly glad that you did. I've spent my past bit of time reading through that thread and it is really helpful. Thanks. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I would recommend not mentoring, at least not for the first year. If you really want to, either find a new team or limit your contributions considerably. Remember that this is a new team now, with new leadership, and nothing undermines new leadership like an omnipresent old leadership. Switching from student to mentor isn't an easy transition, and the last thing that a team needs is a bunch of college kids doing everything. You are there to advise now, above all else keep that in mind.
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Re: FIRST after Highschool
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I'm glad it's helped! |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I'm a college freshman. I go to a college that hosts its own team comprised of local high schools so I have the fortune of being able to mentor them.
Classes don't start up again until the 22nd so I don't really have an idea how much of a toll it will take on my studies. The hardest thing to do is to transform yourself from a student to a mentor. It's hard not to "do it your way". A mentors job is to help the students learn and that always comes first. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
There are some other factors that should be taken into account.
Remember that every team is different. You should probably consider the properties of a team you might potentially mentor with just as much weight as your own personality. You will probably mentor a team close to your college. If the area near your college is "in a rough side of town" your students are probably more likely to be a little rough around the edges. Teaching these students that their ideas are worthwhile, that they have value as an individual, and that somebody cares about them and their well-being is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. It does constitute, however, an additional load on the mentor's plate as the robot must still be completed. You are also more likely to have behavioral issues. This can be time-consuming and stressful. Probably the most terrifying experience in my life so far has been receiving a phone call urging me to run the rest of the way to practice as a fight was about to break out in the machine shop. You must also obtain the respect of your students. This is something you must earn and have them give you, not something you can demand and take from them. Without the respect of your students you will probably have serious issues getting much done. You must also earn their trust of your professional skills so that when you attempt to discourage a bad idea they will actually listen. Once again this is something they give, not something you can take. How hard this is varies from individual student to individual student. I can't emphasize enough to you how rewarding it is to finally earn the trust and respect of the students who probably need FIRST the most so that you can really begin helping them. Mentoring teams like that is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my short life. It is also far more time consuming because there are greater challenges. This isn't to say that teaching privileged children who already believe in themselves (often to the point of ego and arrogance), and take the college education they will receive (and probably will be paid for completely by their parents) for granted is easy either. While teaching at a robotics-based summer camp my boss once received a phone call where a parent complained (and I quote) "that Katy did not understand the unique challenge and privilege she had teaching somebody as gifted as her son." Despite these annoyances these students are, in my experience, less likely to attempt to injure one another with power tools. This makes getting an extremely basic robot to competition much easier. Another thing to consider is the number of other mentors. During your freshman year you probably need the power to be able to quit or decrease the number of hours you work if your grades start falling. If you are the only mentor (or the only mentor the students respect) the team will directly suffer if you attempt to decrease your hours. Don't put yourself in a position to have to make that choice. It is not fair to you or to the team. Consider the mentality of the engineers. Some engineers (especially the first time they work with FIRST) believe they are only there for technical advise and will refuse to help make the kids behave. They expect, essentially, miniature professional adults who happen to know less about the topic at hand than they do. Many students do not fit that description. Forget the "shoulds" and "should nots" of both the expectations and the behaviors, this is simply just how the world works sometimes. Also consider if there is a teacher on the team. No matter how technically inept the teacher may be (or even flat out inept in general) having a professional from your school on your team makes paperwork so much easier. Do not underestimate the power of parents that care about the team. As a student I had almost no respect for them. When you are a mentor, however, you will probably see how parents can make a tremendous difference in the dynamics of your team. Consider your age. I have never had an issue gaining the respect of my students but I have had issues gaining the respect of parents, engineers, fellow mentors, school administrators, and other individuals under circumstances where the age difference between me and my students was less than 6 months. Remember that there are other roles you might fulfill as college student that will help FIRST. Regionals need field resets, team queuers, pit announcers, inspectors, emcees, judges, people to set up the field, people to tear down the field, guides for people from the press, and tons of other jobs just to actually make those three days of magic happen. That doesn't take into account the setup and planning that must be done to get the regional to happen at all. There is plenty of other work to go around if you don't want to mentor. Personally I find emceeing very meaningful too. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
FIRST is for inspiration of HS kids to pursue engineering.
When you graduate take that inspiration and actually pursue engineering Once you have pursued come back and be an example to others. You will always be welcome. My $.02 WC |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
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There is another issue I have seen with former team members who come back to mentor their former teams right away. When they were a team member, they were a friend with all of the students (hopefully at least). When you are a mentor, yes you should be a friend to the students as well, but you also must be able to be a disciplinarian when needed. This isn't easy to do with, say, your buddy that last year you hung around with at the mall. I'm not saying it isn't possible but it isn't easy. Helping out with a former team who may be short on manpower and needs another pair of hands is one thing. Being a full fledged mentor is another. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
If you choose to mentor a team (or teams) while in College, make absolutely sure that you have excellent time-management skills and, more importantly, that the team could function without you. Things happen, you have hard courses, etc. If you have the option to take a break or reduce your activity without seriously affecting the team, you will be in a much better position (especially when midterms/finals come around).
I'm a sophomore in college and I mentor two teams right now, but I have to plan very carefully. School comes first, and at times where I don't have enough time to dedicate to both, I find other members to temporarily cover for me. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I graduated last year, and i had decided that this team and program is too important to give up on it. I want the kids to experience the same things i did. I would suggest that people who graduate, if you had a fun time during your high school stay, to come back and help, atleast for one year.
Im splitting my time between college/work/and FIRST, but i enjoy doing it. And im sure others do too. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
When I graduated from HS (back in 2003), I went through much the same decision process you're going through now. I really wanted to stay involved with FIRST, because it was something I really enjoyed, but I also was concerned about having enough time, classes, and the like. Initially, I decided I was going to take a year off, volunteer, and not be involved with a team.
As the season rolled around, though, I couldn't stay away. I decided to go back to my high school team, and help them out. They were in a transition year, with lots of new people in leadership roles, and I figured I could lend some experience to the new organization. In the end, it wasn't really such a good idea. Going back to work as a mentor with the same students who had been my peers the season before was a challenge. We also had a new teacher, and that posed some conflict - I wanted to have the responsibilities as an adult mentor, but she saw me as this 18 year old kid who was in high school less than a year previously. Needless to say, it wasn't the best situation, and I really wasn't ready to handle the responsibilities of being a mentor. On top of this, I had been spending all my weekends back home in Rochester, and sometimes skipping class and homework assignments so I could leave early for a meeting (it was an hour drive home). I still was doing okay in school, but not as well as I had the semester before. At that point, I seriously considered quitting FIRST entirely. I hadn't had much fun, I was burned out, and came close to calling it quits. Fortunately, a friend of mine knew some of the people involved with a team in Ann Arbor (where I went to college), and got me in contact with them. That turned out to be one of the best decisions I've made in FIRST. The new team was much closer (5 minutes from my dorm), they were structured to allow the college mentors specific roles in the team, and I had a chance to build a proper mentor-student relationship from the ground up. My year mentoring my old team had also given me new perspective on how to run a team, and how to be a mentor. With some help from other experienced mentors, I was able to have a great season, and eventually became the design manager, and then the team leader. I got to see some of the students that were freshmen and sophomores become upperclassmen and leaders... it really was a truly rewarding experience. The best thing was at IRI (my last event with the team) when the mother of one of those original freshmen came and told me how I had been a role model and inspiration for her son. It made me feel like I had really made a difference to those kids. So, the main things I got from this experience: - Trying to mentor your old high school team is not always a good idea... it's better to get a fresh start in a new place. - College freshmen are not always ready to be mentors... they can learn, but it usually takes a season or so to really develop into a good mentor. - If you do mentor in college, find a team that's close! Your free time and grades will thank you. - Mentoring can be a great experience if you approach it right, and there's nothing better than being able to help give another student the same experience that inspired you. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I graduated high school last year. The college I'm attending is Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and sponsors a team (190). So I was able to remain just as involved with FIRST as when i was the captain of my high school team. They also offer the first and only Robotics Engineering Program which is definitely my cup of tea.
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Re: FIRST after Highschool
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It's definitely tempting to put too much time into it, but I made a promise to myself that my classes come first (and I've kept it so far). Another thing I've noticed is that the Mentors respect me as the mentors, but the students kind of respect me as an older student. It's kind of nice because it's easier to relate to everyone; I haven't encountered any problems with the exception of parents assuming I'm just a big high school student. I'd say, try it out; If there are problems you can always back off and try again another season. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I was in the same boat. I decided immediately that I wouldn't start a team, which would be my only option at school. (SDSM&T has no teams closer than halfway across the state or more, and Denver is the closest regional.) So I decided to come back to my old team for the first week or so (Christmas break means GO HOME at Mines). Then I heard that a team we'd mentored their first year which had dropped out of FRC was coming back and needed a hand. I went over there instead. It's been an experience.
I will continue to help 1135 as best I can, but it will have to be via the web--SD to CA is a trip. I might return for L.A., but I'm not sure whether it'll be as a mentor or a volunteer (or both) yet. So, to sum up: Starting a team is probably not a good idea. Mentoring a team should only be done if you have free time--breaks, all work complete, etc. Volunteering is a better idea, but only if you have the time. School comes first. |
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Move on to the university and your new life. You will be surrounded by a unique opportunity to learn and experience new things. Do this and come back in a few years. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
i mentor my team right out of high school and since im in college and going for mechincal engineering i find it very helpful to keep mentoring for my team i learn something new in the field of engineering everyday. so i feel if ur going to be a engineering as a career u probraly should keep mentoring out of high school but thats just me.
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Re: FIRST after Highschool
Every situation is a little different, and to me, the fact that you are considering taking a break as a choice, means you probably should (IMO).
When I was graduating, it was nearly zero question in my mind that I would continue FIRST. I looked at several schools but of the ones that came out on top of my choices, only one, my #1 choice, didnt have a FIRST option... nor did I get in though (114/1800 applicants accepted at the time). Anyways, my goal in graduating high school was to try and inspire just one student the way I had been inspired... and for me, at the time, that meant joining an existing team (WPI, Daniel Webster, RPI, etc) or starting a new one. I chose the hard road because Clarkson seemed like the right fit for me, and it was exciting to have the chance to make a team what I thought it should be like. It was rough, my first semester I laid the foundation but also joined the Varsity Ski team and Honors program, between practice, homework and FIRST I had maybe one night a week worth of free time, I did get a 3.25 that semester. The next semester FIRST and skiing kicked in full gear and I pulled a 3.0, started to drop below the GPA for the honors program... Sophomore year got harder, classes hit, life stuff hit, plus I still had everything else... that first semester I got a 2.8, I was now below the honors program level & on "probation". Second semester hit and I buckled down hard, but kept involved in everything else and somehow squeeked out a 3.0... I spent the rest of my college career crawling back up to a 3.3. While I suggest not just studying & partying, get involved in something else - it helps with jobs, your first year may not be the year to kick in unless you are confident on your time management. I absolutely loved starting the Clarkson team, and really wouldnt have changed my decision for the world, but I know that it was hard, and I know that had managed my time even slightly less effectively, I wouldnt have pulled out of it. So my advice would be if you don't know in your heart that you HAVE to be on a FIRST team, or you doubt your time management skills, take a break, get to know yourself, have fun your first year of college, then decide if you want to go back, or wait until you are an engineer. There are several levels of it as well. We do have 3 students back as college mentors this year, two graduated last year, the other mentored last year. All are doing well with classes, but all three pretty much only come during build season, and when they have a few spare moments. None are in critical positions (dont lead subteams), they just help out where needed. This is a good way to get your FIRST fix, but also be able to get your work done as well. Remember Grades HAVE to come first... I see far too many kids think they can bomb their first year and dont realize how horribly that affects your GPA. My company wont even look at students without a 3.0 coming out of college, so the competition is stiff! Good luck!! |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
After being on a team for 4 years in High School, I decided to explore some other things in college than just FIRST. I worked full time most of my college career, along with being involved in a sorority and other events. I kept up my FIRST involvement by volunteering at Off-Season & Regional events as to not lose touch with the competition but without a real responsibility outside of the competitions, as school was the most important thing to me.
Thanks to my focus on school, I was able to finish college in 3.5 years for my degree in Mechanical Engineering. I recently started at a large company that supports a FIRST robotics team in the area & will be looking at going back to a team to now mentor. I now feel I will be better fitted to mentor than I would have been in college as my obligations are different than they were in school since I don't have the worry of college work deadlines. You don't have to be on a team to be involved. Volunteers are greatly needed at many of the competitions. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
Instead of writing out the wordy post that I was going to I figured I would keep it all short and sweet, or at least try to.
Pick an event over your spring break, get rooming arangements made, and travel to that event(Southwest is a cheap airline if your choice means you have to fly somewhere). Its a fun way to keep FIRST in your life without having to worry about the stress of getting stuff done at college. And yes, college is stressful, I go to art school and am stressed, I have learned over the past year and a half that art is a lot easier than engineering I can't even start to imagine how hard engineering school is. If you still want to be involved look into something slightly smaller, try to start an FLL team during the fall of your sophomore year, it requires less intense participation on all parts and you will find it easier to gain credibility with elementry and middle school students. -Kelli |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I'm a senior too, and I have the same concern. My friend is a freshman in college, and she's in their robotics club. They mentor an FRC team, but not us. She said she'd rather mentor us, so she came to stay with me for this week.
I think what you might find is that your college mentors some other team but your allegiance lies with your old team. If that's ever the case for me, I think I'll mentor both teams, as well as participate in college level robotics. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I graduated last year and am greatly enjoying mentoring my old team this year!
Our team is in a unique situation, with only a small handful of people from years past. It's almost all newer people. When I contacted the team a few weeks before kickoff, I was disappointed to hear they didn't do much thinking about robotics, and the new guys didn't know much more than they did at the start of the year. I was originally planning on mentoring occationally, but I've been there every day this week, enjoying it. I'm also enjoying teaching guys how to do things, it's cool being the one teaching instead of the one learning... but I still have plenty of learning to do too! During the winter break, a handful of college mentors are helping, but as soon as school starts they won't be around. I live close to my high school, and I intend to help through the season... but probably not every day once they have a handle on things! |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
Please take a good look in the mirror before mentoring. Assess your motivations. Ask yourself "does a team need me or do I need a team?"
During highschool FIRST was, in many cases, basically our lives. You have many wonderful memories of your highschool team and that is as it should be. FIRST is designed for high school students. When you are in high school FIRST is all about you: your experiences, your inspirations, your team, your team's accomplishments. That doesn't mean you're selfish, it is how the program works. When you become a mentor FIRST is not about you anymore. You are not a team captain with extra privileges. You are a professional adult attempting to share your experiences with the next generation of FIRST. You are, willingly or not, a role model. The program is not designed to give you anything except the joy of watching your students grow as individuals. Becoming a mentor in order to maintain your highschool lifestyle of FIRST is an incredibly selfish and damaging thing for you to do. Refusing to adapt to your life is bad for you. This behavior is also not good for your students because you are being a bad example. Instead of being inspired by FIRST you are behaving as if you were addicted to it. If you have any illusions that participating as a college mentor will be the same experience as being a team member I'd advise you take a year off for your own good. Get to know yourself. Learn to stand on your own two feet before you try to carry others. In short the decision to become a mentor or not is not about what you want. It is about what is best for the team you will be mentoring. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I graduated HS in 2000, and I got my BS in EE in 2004. I'm slated to get my PhD in Computational Intelligence and Adaptive Controls this coming May.
I returned to mentor my team last year, a 7 year lapse. I think I was better served by having that lapse, and I think my team was better served as well. Some will bite my head off for this...but being involved in FIRST has a tendency to put "FIRST Goggles" on. Here's what I mean: Participants get all wrapped up in the FIRST universe that they forget the real universe. Yes, FIRST provides you a framework for the competition, but it also blinds some to the physical reality. I've noticed this in dealing with students. During my 7 year absence, my team took on the philosophy that FIRST is a shop project, focusing on mechanics and neglecting programming/electronics. They hardly knew any programming, controls, etc...and I had to impart these topics onto them. Since everyone was so stuck in their ways, I worked with mostly new people. That new group and the old group have merged now, and this season is looking better. It did, however, stand in the way of their success last year. For myself, I have come into a field that is reasonably related to FIRST. However, I know two people from my old team who became involved in IT software and civil engineering, two disciplines tangentially related to FIRST. We are all good engineers, and FIRST does a good job exposing students to engineering, but there is engineering beyond robotics. Simply, leaving FIRST for a year (or 4, or more) gives you the opportunity to view your future, whatever field it may be in, from a neutral perspective. Getting your "FIRST Goggles" off allows you to bring new ideas into the FIRST universe, which helps the competition (if you ask me). -JEE |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
First of all, let me tell you how much I completely understand how you feel right now! I was the same way last year, thinking about it being my senior year and how I wasn't sure how FIRST would fit into my life down the road. My first (and probably best advice for you at the moment) is to live up your last year as a student. I tried to do that last year, but got caught up in the sadness of it being my last year. If you live it up, you'll be happier later on.
Right now, I am a student at Ball State University and currently a college mentor for Team 1720. I got into contact with the team before I selected my college, because I knew I still wanted to be involved with FIRST. So, you should research the college or town you will reside in after high school and see if there is a team there that you could work with. Then get in contact with the team and start asking about becoming a part of their team. In my experience, the team was very accepting and happy that I wanted to mentor, and greeted me with open arms. If you do end up joining a team, there are a few things you need to keep in mind: your primary concern should be school. Doing well in school is more important than mentoring a team. I used the first semester of college as my transition period. I attended a meeting here and there for robotics and helped out a little, but my main focus was the transition between high school and college. You'll get a good feel for college by the time kick off roles around. Now, I attend 3-4 meetings a week, giving myself enough time for both my schoolwork and my work as a mentor. And my team is very understanding that I'm a full time student and can't make it every day. I am also volunteering at the Midwest Regional in Chicago. What problems have I encountered? Well, at first I think I tried to bite off more than I could chew, so to say. I tried to throw myself into a mentor position as soon as I came to college without allowing time to transition. I realized this, took a step back, and then came back with an even greater for joining the team. Probably one of the hardest things for me to do was to realize that I was on a NEW team with a NEW role. I wasn't the student anymore. I'm helping mold the future. Like Katy said in this thread previously, it's not about you anymore. It's about what you can do for the students to help them grow. If you join a new team, they will have a different way of doing things. I started off saying, "Well, on my old team..," but now I realize that I am on a new team who already have their own identity. While I will always love Team Hammond (my previous team), I realized that it was time to move on, take what they taught me, and pass on my knowledge to others. It's hard to switch from putting everything you have into one team and then putting it into a completely new team, but it is necessary if you are going to be a successful mentor. That was probably the hardest part. It is all up to you, really. What worked for me or others may or may not work for you. You'll know what is right for you when the time comes to make a decision. And even if you take some time off of FIRST, you can be happy in knowing that FIRST will be waiting for your return... :) |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I am a college freshman, and I decided to keep in touch with my team throughout the year. This previous week I came back to my high school to assist the robotics team with design and prototyping. Because last year was our team's rookie year, I don't feel like I know enough to mentor a team, even though my college does. Therefore, I just categorized myself as a "facilitator" instead of "mentor" and led discussions and did administrative tasks.
Unfortunately, it was very hard for me not to overpower the student leaders, especially because I did not agree with a lot of the things they were doing. I kept having to remind myself that I cannot be biased because I am no longer "on" the team; I'm just a facilitator. I'm planning on visiting and helping remotely whenever my team needs me, but I am going to put my college stuff first. When I graduate, I'll think about becoming a serious contributor to the team, but until then, I'm going to volunteer the time I do have to help out my team. So, to answer your question, I think you should volunteer your time to help a FIRST team if there's one near your college. It's a wonderfully rewarding experience, but make sure you can handle your college coursework. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
Thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. It's really great to hear what everyone else did post high school.
I do agree that it is one person's choice and everything but it's nice to know to what factors other people made the decision based upon. Thanks everyone ;) |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
I would imagine that I might not mentor, at least not for a while. I'll definitely attend local competitions if they're there, though, because the opportunity to see what a bunch of high schoolers without engineering degrees and tons of experience can think up, and how practical their application of these designs are. I think that's my favorite part of the competition, too. Just checking out the 'bots, especially since I know how much thought it takes to build one of these things.
Thank god I don't have to make that decision right now though -- I'm a 11th year, meaning I have this year and next year of FIRST left, which is plenty of time to have a great time. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
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I used this past semester (my first) to get accustomed to college life and classes and helped out when I could. Now that I have a better idea of my time commitments and whatnot, I feel like I'm in a much better position to decide how much time I can devote to other things. I'd recommend taking first semester easy and gradually working your way up. I know people that did 234 clubs, an intramural sport, and mentored a FIRST team and their grades weren't so great first semester because they had a tough time managing all the work and focusing. That said, it's always fun to go to competitions and see your team and others that you've befriended over the years. If you absolutely cannot stay away from FIRST for a semester, ask your team to keep you in the loop of what's going on and provide help where you can and when you can. |
Re: FIRST after Highschool
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