why do we mentor?
 

After hearing this question fairly often I offer one of my students messages from the end of his last official regional as a student member of FIRST Robotics Team 2168 - Aluminum Falcons. Messages like this are why I mentor, and why i will continue to be a part of FIRST.

As posted here: http://jwfoss.posterous.com/why-do-i...chool-students

"This competition made me realize how lucky our team is to have great people surrounding it. The mentors did an awesome job this year. Kevin and James did awesome with the programming. You can't get much better than a hundred percent autonomous scoring rate. Christian was huge for pit work and mechanical changes. Josh and Justin, our new mentors, took this team to the next level. They designed this robot and made sure it was put together and working properly. They put together the mini bot and deployment as well and got it working by the end of the day when it mattered. Everyone put in the time and the work and gave us an awesome robot to put on the field. They gave the drive team the opportunity to be great. And we were. Our robot was dirty. Unfortunately we were picked by the eight seeded alliance and had to go against the championship team in the first round. In short, our mentors are awesome. They allowed us to go on the field and compete. Because of them I got extremely competitive and seriously got into this game. Not only were they extremely good at their jobs in the pit but they were extremely cool people to be around. I made friends with all of them and they made my first experience great. Because of them I now love FIRST robotics. They deserve recognition. Thank you guys.

I would also like to thank Mr. Chidley. He didn't have a glamourous job but it was important and without him we wouldn't have been at this competition. He registered for and organized the events. He set up the hotels and food options. He organized the meetings and made sure everyone had a ride to get to the competition. He also heckled our sponsors into giving us money. He's the only person in our school who even cares about robotics and without him we wouldn't have a team. He doesn't get the recognition he deserves sometimes and I would like to say thank you.

Another person who did awesome this year was Mrs. Entwistle. She put alot of time into the pancake breakfast which raised us a good amount of money. She supported team throughout the season and she deserves a thank you as well.

Everyone I've mentioned (and I'm sure there are others I haven't) has changed my life and I want to thank you guys for that. You gave me a great senior year and turned something I wanted to do to impress colleges into an awesome experience. You guys are great."

- Matt Myles, Senior, Going to WPI for Aerospace Engineering Fall 2011

Re: why do we mentor?
 

We had a great 4 years on Aces didn't we Justin.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

I was very fortunate to start my FIRST career on Aces. The mentors, sponsors, and resources that were available to myself and the team while I was there made it possible for me to succeed. I owe a great deal to those who helped me back then, and I suppose my mentoring others is my personal way of paying it forward.

I will always remember where I started.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

"You'll never know the true impact that mentors have on you until you become one."

That was on the scrolling banner on the kickoff video. I found it on the youtube video at 13:40

I don't plan on going to a college without an FRC team.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

You should read this:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=86703
You can wait until you're out of college to mentor... the kids will wait for you.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

Thanks for posting a great example of a really heartfelt thanks.

If Mr. Chidley and Mrs. Entwistle are interested, have them join NEMO. They will meet a lot of mentors like them.:)
www.firstnemo.org

Re: why do we mentor?
 

I will re-mention NEMO to our non-technical mentors.

In terms of being a college FIRST mentor. Take the advice you get from JVN and others but make a final choice yourself. Remember your going to college to work hard and get a degree. Your education must come first.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

Its funny, this thread hits on so many points I brought up in my speech at the CT Regional... its beautiful!

First... answering the thread question: Why do we mentor?

When I started 229, my goal was "To Inspire just one student the way I had been inspired"... I obviously got that and soooo much more.

Another part of my speech was when I was leaving high school, I stopped and hand wrote a letter to 3 of our lead mentors, thanking each of them specifically for what they had done for me, for the inspiration they had given me, for helping me find a career in engineering. I encouraged all of the students (especially the seniors) to take the time to do the same thing (I wonder if Matt heard my message :D).

I've received many emails and letters from parents and students since I started mentoring. My favorite was a semi-legible one scrawled on a piece of notepad paper that came from a student around the time of his graduation. He thanked me for being one of the only people that believed in him, and gave me a silver bracelet with the letter that had the simple world "Believe" pressed into it. That letter meant the world to me, and I will never forget it.

This is so true and such a great addition to this thread. I have to say, seeing the "lightbulb" go on for a student... to see them grow and change... to see them head off to college... to hear of their successes... its so much more rewarding than I ever could have dreamed.

Everyone that gets "hooked" in high school has to decide their level of involvement from year to year. From the thread that JVN referenced, there are many different valuable points of view, that to me all come down to you need to decide for yourself. Many of us were able to successfully mentor in college. Several were not. If you can balance college work, college life & FIRST, its worth it. If you can't, you'd better focus on college work! But no matter what point in your life you get back into mentoring, its amazing to see the inspiration in a students eyes, and well worth the effort.


High School Seniors... Follow Matt's lead and make sure your mentors know how much they meant to you!!

Re: why do we mentor?
 

Take JVNs advice here. Seriously consider whether doing FIRST in college is right for not just yourself, but for your potential students. It is NOT for everyone, and from my experience, the number of people incapable of doing so are the overwhelming majority.


-Brando

Re: why do we mentor?
 

Chicks dig mentors.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

I mentor because of the youth. I truly enjoy being around the students, amazed at the minds and talents they possess. I feel young and they keep me busy during the early part of the year. I feel blessed that I found new people to care about and enjoy being with. The students we have always show the true meaning of gracious professionalism and teamwork. I am very proud of Team 1730 and also the other two in our district, 1986 and 1987.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

I tell my kids (the robotics team, not my own) that I am counting on them to make my old age easier.

In reality, though, there are two reasons. One of the Starwars books said it best. The bounty hunters have a saying "If you only take care of your own, you aren't a man." I belive this. And its fun to watch them develop and grow and when they get the 'lightbulb moment'.

Last, but not least, I love playing with robots.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

As part of a rookie team in my freshman year of college, some may not consider me a mentor, but I know why I work with this team (even if that means only a few weekends during build). An anonymous blog post on our team website:

"I joined the robotics team my 11th grade year and i had no idea what they wanted me to do or how they expected me to be able to do any they ask but after a short bit of time i seen that creating gear motors and such wasn't that hard and also having great team mates makes everything easier over time and that everything we create will take lot of detacation and energy. I Love being apart of the RAMBOTS"

If you knew anything about South Philly High, or our team, you would understand why this post means the world to me and the other mentors on 3553.

To the student who made the post- thank you.

Re: why do we mentor?
 

I mentor for many reasons:

My first experience with FIRST was in college when I was on a semester engineering co-op job. My work mentor was also a mentor for FIRST team 180 S.P.A.M. and invited me out to their shop to check it out. I thought it was pretty cool, and I actually learned pretty much everything I know about using a mill from their retired machinist mentor. This alone has been very beneficial in my engineering profession. Even as a part time college "mentor" I learned so much being part of FIRST that I want to continue that cycle of learning with students today.

Secondly, most of our students want to go into technical fields, so they really look up to me as a professional engineer. My opinion matters much more than I first imagined to the kids. I told one of our seniors last year I was proud of her, and she still talks about it like it was a defining moment of her life. I was never cool growing up, but now I feel like a rock star. :D It's a pretty awesome feeling to be a "hero" to the kids.

Little kids want to grow up to be firemen and doctors. FIRST kids want to grow up and be engineers.

Third, I really like teaching. Not in the classroom/textbook style, but explaining how things work, how to use equations, why things are the way they are. I love the feeling of seeing a student "get it" It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I try to design team exercises that illustrate engineering concepts (like optimization) and still are a bit of fun; last year our team captain came up to me afterwards and said "this was really cool" which absolutely made my day.

And last -- I get to play with robots! How is that not awesome?!?

Re: why do we mentor?
 

This is why I mentor.