I think, as students, we have a (very very small) idea of the committment our mentors give us. I obviously don't know first-hand and don't claim to, but you slowly begin to realize just how much of a time committment a FIRST team really is. Our faculty advisor needs to be with us in the shop every day until 5:00. And the further we get from kick-off, the later that time becomes. I won't do the math, but that is a LOT of time. This same faculty member is a teacher of mine who just recently organized a class trip- he has been trying to get all the permission and logistics worked out with the district for weeks now, and just yesterday he was able to give out the permission slips.
Our mentors love what they do. The college kids who come back to our school on weekends just love FIRST and really like mentoring their underclassmen friends from previous years. The adults are even more amazing. Not that college students don't have lives
, but the adult mentors are taking time away from jobs and family. It's amazing that they have the patience to sit there and explain to me the most basic things.
From a student point of view, I think mentors do far more than teach us. They give us such an amazing sense of self. Our students and mentors have friendly relationships, and it's great to know that these professional adults treat you as an equal. It's great to know that you can have inside jokes with them. (OK, even if they are geeky inside jokes about hammers and quality control.
) But even more importantly, it's great to know that the guy helping you wire your robot's RC or trace the pneumatic circuits is in many cases an expert in his field. Who is not only willing to devote time and energy to teaching you what he knows, but who respects and values you and your opinion. There's nothing better to boost your ego than to make some comment or suggestion that your mentor greets with, "Oh! Good idea." That kind of thing has happened to me several times and it feels great.
So yes I respect my mentors, but it's not in a very direct and forward, "Wow you must do a lot of work for us" kind of way. It's a much more subtle admiration that probably can't be expressed in words. (But we do try.
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