[Bharat Nain]

Sometimes students ask for more involvement in the robot design and build process and don't get it. What advice can you offer this FIRST-a-holic in talking to their mentors?

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Hello everyone, After having a discussion with some of the other student leaders of the FRC team I'm on, we all agree that the mentors are only focused on the robot and aren't letting the students design and build the robot, do any math/physics involving robot design, or do any fabrication. Instead of letting the students decide where they would benefit the team, people have been placed seemingly at random on tasks. For example, I harp on drivetrain design and have devoted many hours of my life to optimizing the drivetrain that the team has come up with. I was placed on the CAD/Integration/Communication team and the drivetrain was redesigned to be made out of the kitbot and scrap wood. I feel like our mentors are not acting in the spirit of FIRST and are only looking to shoot the students down.

Thank you for hearing me out on my concerns, Any ideas to help us (the students) let the mentors know that we feel this way would be greatly appreciated.

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FIRST-a-holics Anonymous mailbox is a place to share your concerns about your FIRST experience anonymously. It is the perfect place if you just want someone to listen, or ask for advice when you don’t know what to do. Submit your letters today at the FIRST-a-holics Anonymous mailbox forum. If you wish to respond to this thread anonymously, please PM Bharat Nain or Beth Sweet with your response and thread title.