Oh man, first of all I would like to thank all of you who gave congratulations on and off this thread, it's great to know that all of you are so supportive (even if I did go to a business school
). I'd also like to thank my family for being so great through all of this, and to 237 for listening to me as I attempted to shout advice from all the way in MA. I will always be very proud of you guys and look forward to an even brighter future.
If I have any advice to give (although I wasn't really asked to give advice, I'm giving it anyway), it would be these things:
1.) School comes first. There is nothing to explain here, so I'm going to leave it at that.
2.) Don't kick yourself for things you didn't realize when you started. Life is about learning, and hindsight is 20/20. Realize that you did the best you could with the cards that you were dealt.
3.) Try your hardest to join an organization that is not related to FIRST at all, but instead fulfills another interest of yours...particulary one very well-established. Not only are you exposing that organization to what may be their very first FIRSTer, but you are gaining experience that you can later apply to your team, or to FIRST as a whole. Although they rival in size, compared to other multi-national non-profits, FIRST is still about the physical age of a toddler. They've already worked out the kinks - the best we can do is learn from them and apply it to make us stronger as an organization. (Side note: Thank you, Sigma Kappa, I've learned so much from you. I am now more than ever proud to wear the triangle. Dove Love, Jess B, aka "Small Wonder")
4.) FIRST is there to be utilized, so use it! When I started HS, there was no FIRST team. Partly because of that...I never really wanted to be an engineer (blasphemy, I know!) nor had prepared myself academically to become one, and by the time I was graduating HS I realized that my focus in learning was going to be elsewhere. It breaks my heart every year to see those scholarships go unutilized, especially since I personally could not use any of them. All of this is here for you, because you are the ones who can change the culture! So go to the FIRST site, check out CollegiateFIRST, talk to current college students, and apply, apply, apply. The worst they can say is no, and if they do then it just wasn't meant to be and all you can do is pick yourself up and keep applying.
FIRST to me today is more about the love for new technology and the desire to create an economy that supports the technology industry as a whole. I know that my gift to it is my business skills, but your gift may be something completely different, and that's great. I know so many people who will be able to utilize FIRST for what it's designed to do that would not be a part of FIRST if it was not for a friend, relative, or teacher who was involved just because they love the program. So, keep on fighting the good fight, NEMs.
That's about it. Catch ya around the forums
-Jessica B
PS - As of right now I am currently jobless, although I have been interviewing since January. I am looking for something within marketing or corporate strategy for a technology company, and I would be more than happy to be with one that has a FIRST team. Please email me at jessica . boucher @ gmail . com (without the spaces, of course) for a copy of my resume.