[brennonbrimhall]

Every team has the duty to strike the right balance between having a productive, respectful, and robot-oriented atmosphere and reaching out.

I won't lie and say that these are easy choices to make. Each team has to make these decisions for themselves – every team is unique. However, I would also be lying if I said that either unregulated team membership or stifling applications are the best routes.

With Team 20's 80 some odd students, we have a difficult challenge of promoting intra-team communication, and getting all hands on deck. We are expecting even more students next year. Don't get me wrong – it's great to have that challenge, and it's wonderful to have that many interested and committed students with us. Inevitably, though, by build season, we boil down to a core group of people who are willing to put in the time and the effort.

On one hand, it would make sense to have an interview process or to have them get letters of recommendation from a non-family member. But in my case, I might never have had the chance to catch FIRST-fever if that had been in place. There will always be some who will go the extra mile, and those that don't. Knowing that, making the balance will always be a challenge that no team should have the slightest degree of complacency for.

We have awesome mentors – and from my perspective, it would be the utmost disrespect and disservice to them to not be the most committed, dedicated, and ready-to-learn student I can be. I am amazed at how much time each of them set aside from their comfortable lives to spend time with a bunch of crazy teenagers. I think every student has a duty to be as involved as they can.

When all is said and done, FIRST is an awesome experience about a dedicated group of professionals and students setting aside something good for something far better and much more rewarding.