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FIRST-like Programs at the College Level
Hi all,
Sorry if the topic of this post is something that has been brought up before. It's just been weighing heavily on my mind and I'd like to get some input on it.
I was a member of FRC Team 316 for all four years of high school. I spent my junior and senior years as team captain, and really got into it. I learned so much through my time in FIRST; it was the most fun I've ever had, and it made a huge impact on my life.
I've been at Grove City College for two months now, studying electrical engineering. It's been great so far, but as time goes on I'm realizing more and more how much I miss FRC. I looked into a few engineering groups we have on campus. We have a Baja SAE team as well as an ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge team, but both of these are more geared towards mechanical engineering students. Unfortunately we don't seem to have any equivalent programs for electrical engineers (apart from independent research and senior capstone projects), so I've been looking around to try and find a college level robotics competition. I was surprised that there doesn't seem to be much out there. I know FIRST piloted the CARD program back in 2011, but I can't find any information on it more current than 2013.
I'm still connected to my old team, but since my school is 6 1/2 hours away from home I'm limited in my involvement. The nearest FRC team is about 1/2 hour away, but I don't have a car so mentoring isn't really an option. I plan to volunteer when I can, but I still miss the level of involvement that I used to have. One step I would like to take is forming a FIRST Alumni association on campus, as I know we have a decent number of alums here.
I know classes will get more difficult, and more opportunities will come with time, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to do more now. Am I just being impatient? Are there any good programs like FRC for the college level that I should look into? Am I just looking in the wrong places? Is CARD even still a thing? College is a time for branching out, trying new things and growing as a person. I've gotten involved with some non-engineering organizations as a change of pace, but I still want something to fill the void that FRC left in my life. I'll probably speak to my academic adviser about this, but I wanted to see what the CD community thought as I'm sure I'm not the first one to struggle with this.
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LuNaTeCs - Learning Under Nurturing Adults Teaching Engineering Concepts and Skills - Small and Mighty!
FRC 316 LuNaTeCs - Student (2011-2014), Lead Programmer (2011-2014), Team Captain (2013-2014), Operator (2013), Drive Coach (2014), Mentor (2015-????)
'11 Philly Regional Finalists, '13 Chestnut Hill Finalists, '13 Lenape Champions, '13 Archimedes Division, '14 Chestnut Hill Champions, '14 Lenape Champions
FTC 7071 EngiNerds - Founding Advisor (2013-2014) | FRC 5420 Velocity - Founding Advisor (2015)
Grove City College Class of '18, Electrical/Computer Engineering (B.S.E.E)
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