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I joined in 2000. I was invited by my girlfriend at the time and wanted to participate immediately. The team was just starting then and had not quite formed...all it really was at the time was some high schoolers meeting with some college kids and talking about robotics. We had no money, we had no space, and we really didn't even have the team...
That's how 401 started...
The whole project grabbed me from the get-go if nothing more then because of the hands-on involvement. Somehow, we mustered up the money and space to build our first robot. We went to VCU and even found the money to go to Nationals. That was one of the most amazing experiences I can remember.
Since then, the student body has grown, we have gained the support of our public schools system, and we still have no money. We have completed three years of the competition and are going into our fourth. Out of the 16 original members, three of us still religiously attend meetings.
FIRST actually pointed me in the direction I wanted to move my life. As corny as it sounds, I had no clue as to what I wanted to do. Now I am a student at Virginia Tech and plan to graduate with a major in engineering (which one, I'm not sure). It gave me something to do with all that crap I had learned in school.
Why should companies sponsor teams? Look at my team...we have no money, and because of it we will most likely suffer heavily. We have made the effort to involve students from the alternative school, and we may not be able to show them what it's all about.
Why should kids join? Where else do you get to learn more in 6 weeks then you would in a school year, build a working robot, and compete with it?
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~Adam
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