Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I've had many reasons to do this but one of the main reasons is falling in love with the community and people involved in FIRST. It is amazing how much support and confidence you can gain by being involved in FIRST. In the big scheme of things, today, I am solely involved because I have a chance to make an impact of some sort and network with some of the coolest nerdy people on the planet.:D

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

To add, these students also have talents and dreams that they can take the time to explore and develop on the team.

And... there are mentors/potential mentors who have found or can find a place to explore and develop their skills, talents, and dreams alongside the students, finding a group that they can relate to and learn with/from.

It's very special.

Jane

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I do this because it is a fun learning expericnce for me.:D

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

What? Wait, why isn't your girlfriend on the team?

I got hooked on FIRST the first time I went to the LA Regional. The amazing talent, enthusiasm, spirit, GP that I saw from those teams impressed me so much. I keep coming back because FIRST is like a string you keep pulling and every pull brings into your life something more amazing than the last pull.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

Not all of us had our wives get us involved Rich ;) Some people just aren't interested...

For me, I do this because it is the only place I feel somewhat normal and because our students really love it.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

It's fun.

This is how I learned that engineering is such a GREAT fit for me and I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone has the opportunity to discover that engineering is something worth looking into.

I want people to realize they can do something other than sports and still have competition.

FIRST gave me a lot so it only makes sense that I give back.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

Because I'm a masochist.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

Yeah, what he said.


.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I do this for the same reason I teach -- because I realized that making the world a better place involves fostering the interpersonal relationships of those around you and trying to inspire those who look up to you to be their best.

Oh, and what the Lavery-types said.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I decided to participate in FIRST because it fulfilled my dreams as a kid. I wanted to do something that made me feel comfortable. FRC provides that with giving me the tools and people to build my life after high school. My whole life the only thing I really wanted to do is build things. Then, I was introduced into engineering when I was about 10. Everything sky rocketted from there ever since.

I do this because it's not only what I love, it's actually a part of myself.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I keep coming back because I cannot stay away. FIRST pulls on me, even if I try to fill my time with other passions.

All of those other passions center on efforts to anticipate the future, to various ends. FIRST shows me the future by immersion -- I am literally surrounded by those who will inhabit and shape it, and I get to help them. Right now.

:D

Re: Why do we do this anyway
 

Back in 2002 my wife said she had a headache & couldn't take out older son to his 2nd meeting. He was a senior in HS & was considered the castaway nerd. But then one of his friends suggested he go to a robotics meeting since he was already an autodesk student. Well he was already hooked & I became hooked at my 1st meeting. I soon found I could help in the non-engineering areas. Since this was Suffield's 2nd year doing the Scrimmage, they needed help & I jumped at the chance. In the years since, I have gone from parent to volunteer, mentor & friend to all the students. I have seen them come as afraid weak freshman & leave as worthy engineers, public speakers, finance advisors & cheerleaders. I have seen them take on a quandary of problems & come up with solutions. I have seen them be accepted to colleges because FIRST was there to help them out. My younger son joined in his freshman year & stayed with it until he joined the Navy. This will be my 3rd years as a volunteer at the CT Regional & I love it! That is why I do it.

Re: Why do we do this anyway
 

I do this because FIRST provided me a safe and loving place in which I could learn, not only about robots, but about all aspects of living. And as I struggle to remain optimistic through the trials of everyday life, FIRST remains a place I can always go back to and feel, without conscious effort, good.

To this day I really don't even know the story with FIRST and VEX. I was a student on my high school team when they made the switch, and my only reaction was, "cool, new control system." Over time I've realized that whatever happened must have left a bad taste for some teams. That's unfortunate, and I guess the best I can say is that, for me at least, these "politics" have had absolutely no effect on what FIRST is really about.

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I came & stayed in FIRST because of several things:

- I've always aspired to be a robotics engineer, and to be able to work with Dean Kamen, since I read an article 9 years ago. It was a piece from TIME Magazine called "Reinventing the Wheel" that highlighted Dean Kamen & the Segway. My dream is to work at DEKA R&D or NASA, and be able to change the world. That article sits on my desk now as a little reminder of where I'm shooting towards.

- I never got to do the whole FLL experience, although I spent my entire time in middle school trying to convince the principal to provide funding for one. My entire time in the 7th & 8th grades, I was waiting for the day when I could join CircuitRunners Robotics #1002. Entering FRC in my freshman year, I found that it was the experience that I had craved in a academic setting; where I could actually be hands-on with what I've learned in school. The day after my first FIRST Regional @ Peachtree, I realized that, even as a teenager, I could do things that could change how science, technology, engineering, & mathematics education was done. Going to my first FIRST Championship in 9th grade, I watched the finals on Einstein. With Dave Lavery as the energetic announcer, and the roar of the crowd, it felt like those moments that you see on ESPN, for events like the NBA Finals. It's been my dream to be standing on Einstein, drowning in colored streamers, holding up the championship trophy.

- The Dean's List Award really helped focus me on why I first came here. To be able to work with FIRST on a whole new level with awesome new teammates from around the world, it has made me realize that we, as students, are the frontline to the success of FIRST; not as a competition, but as a movement. That we're not creating just robots, but student leaders who will serve their communities during their youth, & ultimately humankind over their lives. This award, honoring a leader who served the FIRST community for its entire lifetime, Jack Kamen, puts a light on what real leadership is: servant leadership. Through this, I've also realized that working with FIRST Robotics could be a real career for me in the future. :)

- FIRST creates families. I've felt that over the last 3 years, many of my teammates have become brothers & sisters to me, mentors as mothers & fathers, & mentees as sons & daughters. I mean, going to NH, and seeing Dean & his family all involved in the essence of FIRST, it's made me realize that FIRST itself is a family.

- And finally: a guy by the name of Al George (now my mentor & like my second dad), told me this as a freshman: "You know who most high school girls love? Guys that do robotics." And then he told me as I stood on the Championship stage after getting the Dean's List Award: "Told you 3 years ago. Here's a Sharpie, rockstar," as several girls started to ask me for autographs. :D

Re: Why do we do this anyway?
 

I do it because if I were a kid again this is what I would want to be doing. At the time and place...it wasn't there for me. I'll be damned if the opportunity won't be there for my students.

I do it because it's better than anything I can accomplish in the regular classroom, and because industry "gets it" and wants to help.

I do it because there are some great professionals out there that I have had the pleasure of meeting because we do this, and I'd like to continue to work with them while meeting new people (and mentors for myself) along the way.

I coach robotics and I coach soccer. The two are very similar. I have pre-season and build season to teach; after that it's up to the kids what they do really. I have practice to teach; on the field the kids have to make decisions for themselves. If they don't get it right on the field, I need to do better in practice.

It just works for me (and my wife is starting to like it...just a little...I think!) This is year 3 and she wants to help with events!