Quote:
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Our mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
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FIRST should hang this over the door at
every event. I learned WAY more as a student working with mentors who managed millions of dollars, wired Apollo capsules, ran real machine tools on the floor, drafted parts for durable goods, and designed hydro-electric turbines than I ever would have learned futzing with an Arduino on my own in my room.
I've had many people tell me over the years, "There's no way high school students did all that!" When I was a student I always tried to refute it. Now I reply with an enthusiastic, "YES! That's the point!!"
If you (the generic reader) go out and get an engineering degree, do you think you'll walk in your first day at Acme Corp. and be the chief engineer of everything in Wile E. Coyote's toolbox? Absolutely not! You'll be astounded by how much everyone else in the room knows, because there's a whole bunch you learn in 30 years of working that they can't quite cram into 4 years of schools.
If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room!
EDIT:
I also think it's worth noting I learned a ton from NEMOS, like the commercial fisherman, pilots (for boats), post office managers, stay-at-home moms, secretaries, etc. It really does take a village.