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Originally Posted by Ken Leung
How is your experience in FIRST?
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My experience in FIRST has impacted my career choice more then anything else. As a high schooler, I honestly did not know what I wanted to do. After two years of FIRST, I decided to study mechanical engineering. I can safely say that I love the program and the crazy things that everybody does in it.
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Originally Posted by Ken Leung
How involved are you in FIRST?
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I am the lead mentor with team 1123. I was at all of the build meetings except one or two and put in an extreme amount of time in on the robot. I also volunteered at Richmond for three days . I admit that it is difficult at times because I haven't started any sort of ME classes yet. (Still in the basics). I am basing my guidance off of what I have seen or done in the past and it seems to be working. The difference between being a participant and being a mentor is huge and I am still adjusting. It is absolutely amazing how much more you think of stuff that can go wrong when you are a mentor.
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Originally Posted by Ken Leung
How is FIRST affecting your school work?
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This is something that I am proud to say: Not at ALL!!
Let me elaborate: I go to Kettering University where the Co-op program involves all grades and runs in three motnh intervals. From October to December I was in Michigan, in college. Now, from January to the end of March, I am in Virginia, working at my job. Since I have the benefit of not taking classes while doing FIRST, it hasn't affected my grades.
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Originally Posted by Ken Leung
Do you honestly thing college students can handle the load of being a student, and being a team leader?
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I don't know if I can say yes or no. I have seen college students do amazing things and I think some could very well handle it. I also think that freshmen should NOT try to start a team. While I put in many, many hours, I don't have homework or papers coming due. It would be much better for freshmen to get their feet on solid ground then to try to do all the administrative stuff, as well as lead the build team. (As for me personally, I think I could pull it off. It wouldn't be as much fun as it is now, but with the right group of students I think I could do it. I ended up doing some admin stuff this year, as well as lead the build team so I think I could do it.)
Now that youv'e clarfied, a followup-
I think college students can make good FIRST mentors, even if we don't have the experience to back it up. After doing FIRST for four years, I generally know what will and what won't break. I can't prove that it will and our robot is probably exteremly inside the safety margins, but it accomplishes its task.
FIRST is like industry experience in a way. After doing a job for a period of time, you know what goes and what doesn't. It's just like when a machinist tells you something will break. He has seen it enough times that he doesn't need to prove it mathmatically, although kudos if he can. While most machinsists have years of experience, I think the analogy is still somewhat valid.
Sincerely,
Andrew LaVinus
College student at Kettering University and Mentor of Team 1123