[Taylor]

Spring 2005, I was teaching math at a small rural school an hour southeast of Indianapolis. I got a call from the principal at Southport High, asking if I could come interview for a position. I didn't even remember applying there.

I accepted a job teaching Algebra, Project Lead the Way, and coaching FIRST Robotics. I had never even heard of the latter two before the interview. My first roles were to move the materials from this room and closet on the second floor of the building into this big workshop space and room they were going to convert into a computer lab. Oh, and take two summer courses to teach the PLTW classes. Oh, and chauffer a half dozen students to this thing at Lawrence North.

So we get there at IRI 2005. I had just finished my PLTW STIs, didn't have a team shirt so I wore my PLTW polos. Never seen a competition before; didn't even really know the game. I was pleased and confused to not see buzz saws on the robots. The kids were great; they pretty much ran everything. We had a pit right there by the field (it was our rookie year; we were kind of 'special guests' of 234, our mentor team).

Ho.Ly.Cow. It was amazing.

There was this absolute Beast of a machine that could pick up several tetras individually - set them on its base - then pick up the whole pile and lift it to the top. There was this cute little Pink robot that ran to the loading station, grabbed a tetra, spun around, and grabbed the other - WITHOUT BEING DRIVEN. There was this red and clear robot with a huge GM on it - it was as fast and as slick as could be. One of the guys from that team, a fellow in an AE cap, approached me later and said they were starting a new event in Toronto, and they'd be honoured if we'd consider coming. (he managed to pronounce the U) There was a team called Bomb Squad with this cool spiral thingy.

Then there was our team. We had a forklift with a pivot arm that had a doorknob on the end. A freakin' doorknob. Our driver almost hit this guy in a striped hardhat on the head during a match. He seemed cool, though.

I had just learned the difference between a resistor and a can of cream-of-mushroom soup; our robot looked like it was made from parts off the clearance rack at Lowe's, and I was supposed to lead this effort in 2006?
Goodness.

That's how I was introduced to FIRST.