[tsaksa]

For me FIRST is a bit like Star Trek. Star Trek was an appealing TV series for me not just for the exploration and special effects, etc., but also because it portrayed an idealized future. A future where we had risen above many of the short comings of the current human existence and found a higher purpose as a whole society. One that valued exploration and the pursuit of knowledge more than the accumulation of wealth.

To me that is FIRST. In the real world the best products or designs might never get built because the market is not quite right, or because of a lack of management insight or boldness, or any number of real world limitations. But FIRST is a more safe place than the real world. A place where risk taking is, well, less risky. Where you can leave all of the real world barriers behind and pursue a pure engineering challenge and take it as far as you like. The real world will probably never see the level of opportunity, cooperation, and courtesy you find in FIRST, but it is sure fun to think it might.

Beam me up Dean.