|
I apologize for the delay. Here is my essay as I promised. Feel free to comment on it.
Eugene
P.S. Special thanks goes to my good friends Maria, Mike and Sergie for turning my piece of junk into a presentable essay.
Educational Experience
Machines, the remarkable creatures created by Man since the Industrial Revolution have sparked my interest from an early age. Kindled by those discoveries throughout much of my life, the desire to become one of those creators burst into flame, but until one fine morning that seemed like a very remote possibility. That morning the school’s PA system squeaked and a deep voice made the announcement, “Everyone interested in participating on the Robotics team please report to room 301 after school.”
As soon as the school bell proclaimed the end of the day, I rushed to the meeting. There, I got my first glimpse at the challenge created for that year’s competition; however, the rest of the manual was not available at that moment. Eager to learn more, I looked up the competition manual online and for the rest of the day I was absorbed into reading every piece of information available. To my huge surprise the materials that were soon to arrive were not some Lego’s or lets-glue-this-together kits, but industrial parts that were used in cars, machines and other real life applications.
With my newfound knowledge I set off for the next day’s meeting. There we engaged into a passionate discussion of the design for our robot. At times the excitement ran so high that our mentor had to calm us down. However, there were major obstacles between us and success. This was our first year and unlike the great majority of other teams we did not have engineers to guide us through, but we managed to learn as we went along. All of a sudden the torturous formulae and theories we learned in class became useful tools that we needed to solve the problems laying ahead of us.
What was even more amazing about this challenge is that unlike one-dimensional projects assigned in school, the success of this depended on the intimate integration of every imaginable discipline. When building and designing, physics and math served as our guides. Then the design had to be carefully drafted and made using our own hands. After the robot was built, the programmers took over to make it come alive. The mastery of diplomacy and good communication skills of our teammates helped us find the sponsors needed to support us. Artistic ability became useful when the crate in which we shipped our robot had to be decorated. Furthermore the entire process had to be videotaped in order to attract more future sponsors.
Despite my deep involvement in the design of the robot, the biggest lessons that I learned were not in engineering or physics. I saw that only through close cooperation and understanding of other people involved in a project is it possible to succeed as an engineer. After all, no matter how good a machine looks on paper, without the support of others it is destined to remain there. Thus, the greatest thing that FIRST showed me was that a career in science and engineering is a reality for anyone willing to work and accept the challenges. However there still remains a question – what are those challenges?
|