[Libby K]

This is kind of cool to read right now, since my family and I will be meeting with the 10 Championship winners this week as they come up to Manchester for the Supplier's and Dean's List Summits here at FIRST. One of my 'jobs' this week is going to be talking to the Dean's List winners, and asking how we can improve both the Dean's List award, and how the winners can help FIRST improve things as well.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

Are there things still left ambiguous that we would like to have cleared up in the selection criteria? (ie, is need considered? Is only time spent on FRC teams considered, or does time in FIRST on FLL/FTC apply? Is the selection committee interested in other volunteer activities outside of FIRST?)

Now, the only person on the selection committee that I've really spent time talking to about this is my grandmother, so I've only got one perspective. Most essays certainly include all these things - volunteer hours, other FIRST programs - and as long as it's included in the essay, it's read and considered. Nana don't skim, folks.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

The award ceremony at the World Championship Event: 2012 ceremony viewable here
• Please post a high quality video link on the FIRST website
• The event was held in the ballroom, students, parents, and supportive team members alike all crowded in the same spot. It would be great to see all of the finalists highlighted in some way before the ceremony begins. Have special seating next to the stage for all of the finalists, or at least a standing area where they can meet and network.
• While I understand there is not enough time during the ceremony to read of every name of all of the finalists, what about a pre-show video of the nominees stating their names, team, and nominating regional?
• Special roped off area, where each team of nominee can give 1 or 2 “press badges” for the event to be at the front. I had to keep asking the very tall fellow in front of my group to please allow our nominee’s mother and grandmother see the stage.

Agreed with all of these. Being able to get the finalists together would be really cool.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

Share the information with the world!
I do not see a list of the finalists on the FIRST website, other than each regional’s award section. Perhaps a link to http://itsthedeanslist.wordpress.com/ would be nice, and help build the content. I would like to read each of the winning submissions, but the essays are not posted anywhere.

Here's the only issue with that- that's a privately run website that doesn't affiliate with FIRST. There's no editorial control, and what's published there probably will not represent the actual views of FIRST the organization. So, endorsing it from the website can be kind of tricky.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

Of the 10 finalists, 9 were juniors. I do not know the statistics of the 114, but I am willing to bet that 90% of them were not juniors, I would expect something closer to 50/50, and would expect a smaller number had the above lines not been in the selection criteria.
...
FIRST should be aware that there are concerns that the emphasis is no longer on promoting the students that best exemplifies the ideals of FIRST, but on the students FIRST believe has the best chance on winning scholarships from prestigious colleges and universities.

I'm not doubting the 'consequences' as you state them, but the point of FIRST encouraging you to nominate a junior is because they want to be able to help those kids GET a scholarship or an entrance to college.

It's not at all that FIRST is promoting the 'kids with the best chance'.

Think of it this way. by the time the Dean's List is announced, seniors in high school have already been accepted to colleges, and are probably right about on the deadline for submitting their choice. (I know mine for Clarkson in '09 was May 1.) So, yes, winning the Dean's List is a substantial honor no matter what, but what if that same senior had been nominated the year before? Maybe they could have gotten an extra scholarship, or gotten into that reach school that they might not have without the Dean's List honor on top of their FIRST experience. A leader is a leader no matter what year they are in school.

If your team only happens to have senior leaders, then by all means nominate a senior. But if you've got someone who, by their junior year, is already kickin' butt and taking names as a leader on your team, giving them the Dean's List award is giving them an incredible honor AND a jump-start to their college options.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

Enlist the help of prestigious colleges. Give every school that offers a free ride tuition for all Deans List Winners a spot on the selection committee, and let each school select 1 member to the Dean’s List. This accomplishes FIRST’s desire to get the students names in front of the colleges, and the colleges' desire to pick the cream of the crop. It will increase the number of Dean’s list Winners, and all students will be offered free ride scholarships from all colleges with members on the selection committee. Everyone wins.

Yes and no. Part of why Dean created the Dean's list award is to have this be something selected by the Kamen family. That's what's supposed to make it special.

However, I do think that's an interesting idea to follow. Instead, why not take those colleges and universities that sponsor FIRST and mail them the essays for the Winners (or maybe the top 20 or 30- not enough to overwhelm them by sending 114 entries) - it'd be like college recruiters going to a sports game - but we can bring the students to them. That way, the schools get to pick from the cream of the crop, as you said, but the idea behind the award is still maintained. (I think you'd have a hard time getting schools to offer 10 free rides (that aren't for sports) at this point in the life of the Dean's List Award. 10 years from now? Maybe. We'll bring the culture change, it'll just take time.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

Change the rules back to where there is no emphasis on grade, age, gender, income, or any factors that is not “exemplifying the ideals of FIRST.” The colleges already selected the students they would like to pick, have 10 students in addition to whoever the colleges select.

I don't know where in the Dean's List documentation you see that the selection is done by ANY of those factors besides giving preference to grade. If you can show me that, please let me know. I don't really see that.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

OR at the very least… Make the Dean’s List Winners 20 students total, 10 Juniors, 10 seniors. I like this idea less, but would at least be a move in the right direction.

Based on your view of how the award's selected, this would be a good solution. However, you're operating from the viewpoint that FIRST is picking juniors because they're juniors, not because they're leaders. Remember that superstars will shine no matter what.


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All in all, good points, especially about the ceremony. I'll pass this on as an addition to my report on what the Dean's List Winners think.

(EDIT, for clarification: I've been reading some other posts on Dean's List and I agree that the foundation of the award, from the outside, looks like they're picking juniors because they'll get into college with it. I completely agree that the award should be about leaders. And based on the conversations I've had with the selection committee, it really is about leaders. No junior is getting the Dean's List because they didn't earn it, and happen to be in their junior year. The fact remains, however, that the DLA is of 'more use' in a practical sense to a junior than a senior. So why not nominate that 'shining senior' when they are a shining junior? I know this is moot for the DLA Class of '12, but I hope some of you can see my point.)