In high school I wasn't very active and it wasn't until my senior year when I joined the robotics club that I had a huge time committing responsibility. I was awarded a scholarship through FIRST in my rookie (and final
) year. When I entered college I quickly became active on campus with several clubs, especially with my residence halls association. Through RHA I became interested in becoming a resident assistant, and I was selected to be one this April. I probably wouldn't have become active on campus and eventually wound up with the full room and board position had I not enjoyed my experience with FIRST. If it was indeed a direct cause, then FIRST has helped me to pay for college upwards of $6,000/yr.
While I do like the financial assistance, the scholarship itself hasn't made much of an impact on my continued involvement with FIRST as much as the people that got me involved with robotics in the first place. I'm too far away to do any work on the robot (save for some weekend wiring and LED mounting) but I try to help out with the other areas like team spirit, communications, and logistics.
In our first year we didn't know much more about the FIRST program other than we were supposed to build a robot. It was my primary focus along with having fun with my friends who founded the club. Even though we didn't cover a lot of the other FIRST objectives, I still got a great deal out of the experience. I have to believe that more developed teams make the experience even greater.