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Re: Chairman's feedback form: Gracious Professionalism
We always mention GP as one of our role model characteristics in the Executive Summaries, but we don't mention GP specifically after that. I think, or I hope, that the rest of a Chairman's Essay will convey the attitude of GP. We talk about mentoring and sharing ideas and things of that nature. Things that convey the culture of Gracious Professionalism within our team rather than saying we are GP becuase x, y, and z. I think it has a better impact in that respect and it better reflects our team's culture of Gracious Professionalism rather than just conveying times in which we were Gracious Professionals.
On another note, our team is big on trying to convince teams to apply for the Chairman's Award. Yes, in the begining some of these teams only have the award in sight, but even the results that come from that mindset are astounding. Simply going through the Chairman's Award process can have an impact on students, team, and communities. Like in kgaela's post: applying for the award can change the focus of a team. Kids are competitive. A lot of the time, after only applying once, a team will come back with a stronger program and with a desire to do more. FIRST would not have created these awards if they thought it would have a negative impact. FIRST created the Chairman's Award to maintain "the central focus of FIRST" and that is what the award does. It pushes teams, all teams, to work harder in their communities and to do more. I think at some point even a team who only applies for Chairman's "to win" will forget that they are trying to win, and at that point they will probably become a very successful Chairman's Team. Regradless of how they get to the award, the team that wins it will have made a significant impact in thier community that merits the award and contributes to the central focus of FIRST.
At least that is what I have seen in the teams we have encouraged to apply for the award.
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Mentor - CRUSH, FRC Team 1011 - 2015 to Present
Student - CocoNuts, FRC Team 2486 - 2010 to 2014
2014 Dean's List Winner
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"Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best they can possibly be. We can do this. We're educators. We're born to make a difference." -Rita Pierson
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