[Jen Lawrie]

This past season was my first year as an FRC head coach. I'd say that I came into the program with pretty much no relevant technical experience aside from a solid grasp of physics and familiarity with most of the hand tools in our lab. I hadn't heard of FIRST before I began teaching three years ago. Although I have an engineering degree, my background and training are more organic chemistry than robotics. I didn't feel particularly disadvantaged by this. I've got no problem learning from my students on the team as well as other mentors - and I learned a lot this year. I think the "soft skills" I was able to bring to the team were probably more useful in my role. Thinking about the other mentors on the team, we have a pretty equal mix of college-aged FRC alumni, parents with relevant technical experience, and teachers affiliated with FIRST programs.