Hi wonsi88,
If you are looking for some really great quotes to put in your paper, I think you could find some specific examples to support your thesis from the white paper under Misc entitled FIRST Testimonials. I looked it over, and there are many students who state why they are or were in the past, invovled with FIRST.
There are some awesome quotes which would support joining FIRST for education, experience, opportunity, and overall self value, as you stated. All the information on who the people are, etc. is listed after their first person accounts and experiences. I am sure if you look around some more you could find other white papers under misc as well with these kind of documents. I think they could help you a lot. You could also pick and choose which quotes you think would best support the points you are trying to make.
Good Luck on your essay!
I am sure it will turn out fantastic,
Sarah
--> If you want to go directly to the white paper, here it is:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pa...le&paperid=389