There are actually a few reasons why I joined FIRST... but primarily, it would have to be because my older brother was involved, and he invited me to local competitions just to see what it was like, and once I learned about the mission of FIRST, I got hooked.
Ever since I was little, I've enjoyed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields, and the opportunity to learn so much about these fields was irresistable, especially since I knew I'd be joining the Pink Team, which meant I'd get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work out at the KSC Prototype Lab with real NASA engineers--the same people who send up the Orbiter!--to design and build a fully functional, high quality robot.
Of course I still haven't been able to learn much of the actual mechanical, electical, and programming aspects of building the robot since i've been stuck with mostly all Public Relations projects
(which mind you, I don't mind doing... I'd just like to try something new), but that argument should be left for a post for another thread at another time. :-p