[Hawk091]

Hello everyone, I was the mechanical leader for the SCOE ground vehicle and wow, this program was great! It was really interesting to be "thrown to the wolves" so to speak. In FRC, we had our kit of parts, our well established contacts and sponsors, and our mentors to rely on. Most of us didn't have to deal with starting a team fresh, much less during the course of a few months!

I'm not sure how everyone else's FRC teams were run, but even the most student led teams have a lot of mentor involvement..from money and fundraising to design to transportation. It's something I always took for granted. When I participated in this program, I had to accomplish all of this with my fellow students alone. I found it much more difficult but much more rewarding because when I see the robot that I built, I know that I was completely responsible for it.

For this reason I see collegiate robotics as an excellent program because not only does it give the college kids something to do, it trains mentors, it promotes FRC support, and it trains students to be great future employees.

I hope to see this event grow in the future and I am excited to participate!

-Eric Larson