Quote:
Originally Posted by DevenStonow
Outside of the idea of being a mentor (in the educational/inspirational sense) what does mentoring a FIRST team in college have that other college extracurriculars don't?
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The opportunity to be a role model right away for young people at a critical point in their lives. Being a positive role model to the high school students that I work closely with is something that I strive for. If the students say "I want to be like him/her", and that is a positive influence on them, then clearly that mentor is doing something right. Not sure that can happen so directly through any of the other activities listed.
However as Libby mentions, balance is critical. Doing well with respect to your own standards in school and pursuing other activities that you enjoy are critical to being a positive role model. A mentor who fails all their classes in college in order to mentor and doesn't honor commitments to other things they enjoy can be a negative influence on a team and its students more than anything. They could better contribute as an alumni who chooses to prioritize grades and other commitments above FIRST involvement, then going on to become a leader in STEM and mentoring a FIRST team later on.
Different strokes for different folks, there is no one size fits all answer and just like designing a robot or developing a strategy for FRC, prioritization and awareness of one's abilities/resources are vital.