[Jon Stratis]

What are the major goals for your team? The primary focus of FIRST is inspiration. People who don't seem to "get it" are often those you need to reach out to the most in order to inspire.

We have some students on our team who are definitely inspired. Specifically, I can think of one new member who came to our summer camp and "just got it" - she shows up to every meeting excited and energetic, and spends the whole time working. I'd say she's one of our best members this year, and is going to be amazing in years to come.

On the flip side, we have students who aren't as inspired. They require more supervision and direction as we go through the season. As mentors, we spend time thinking and talking about those members in an effort to determine how to fit them into the team better. Sometimes you just need to take a different approach with them. Others, they're getting off-track because they're bored and you need to give them more challenging work. And others simply aren't well suited for the job they're doing for the team, and need to look at moving into a different position.

We've been going strong for 5 years and haven't kicked anyone out, and short of serious disciplinary problems, I doubt we ever will. We've had challenging students before, and have had to work hard to figure out the best fit and approach for a student, but we've never had someone we couldn't reach.