[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ken,
I for one, would like to pass on enough to let students recognize when there is a problem. If you can't recognize something needs to be done then how will you know that you have to do something about it. Facts and formulas are just the tools we use to make and fix the things around us. They are as neccessary as a screwdriver or drill and everyone will find their favorites and use them regardless of which career they choose. If I could pass this on (and I don't believe I can any other way than by example) I would like students to know that I revel in the challenge. It is fun to find something to fix, to tear it apart and find how it works or why it failed. I just love being able to assemble a system that works or put a piece of equipment back on line when it has been fixed. A wise man once said, "If you can find a job you really enjoy, you will never work a day in your life." I have worked in the same place for 31 years next month and it has just flown by. It seems like only yesterday that I started.
I too was searching for answers as to why I needed to learn something. I finally found my own answers in my last year in high school. When that light went on, I began to learn at a much greater pace than I ever had before. I saw that education was a step to getting the tools that I would need for the rest of my life. I continue to learn as much as I can, pledging to not sleep unless I have learned one new thing each day. I will not pass up a learning opportunity if I can help it. That is why competition is so wonderful for me, I learn so much. I see new methods, materials and people. Robots are art, they can be enjoyed as much as going to a museum. But there is something museums will rarely give you and that is the opportunity to meet the artists.
I don't believe that life is a joke, it is for real. But... there is a lot in life that is funny and I believe it is part of the grand plan to make us happy while we are here.