[nehalita]

I really love this thread because it reminds me how wonderful FIRST is. We see so many opinions here yet everyone seems to work according to their own needs. There is no "way" and we all get to bask in the ability to choose how to run our teams.

Alot of people mentioned here how some teams "do not realize" how involved a team could be. This could not be closer to true. I am living proof. When I started FIRST, I was astonished to see so many adults at the competition. I thought all teams, like ours, was student run, student built, etc. Thus, I had the image that this was the "only way to go." After mingling with other teams and through chiefdelphi, i've realized how many different teams and levels and interactions there are. I had NO idea!

This year would be our third year competing. Our team consists of probably 10 dedicated students and two VERY dedicated teachers. We don't even have a real "sponsor" -- alot of our money comes from relations that will give one time and move on (and the majority comes from us). But, we are desperately trying to change this. We are trying to find a sponsor, trying to get more students involved and trying to find an engineer to help us. After two years of trying, we haven't given up...maybe this year will be our lucky break.

What i'm trying to show here is that alot of teams don't have a choice. However, imagining that we had an engineer, I think it would help our spirit, competitive edge, and overall experience.

No doubt, we take pride in our self-reliability. When we run into problems, we sit and figure out what to do -- we engage in this process to its fullest extent without having someone on the end cut us short with the answer. But it's been hard. We had no machining tools (that should change this year) in the past and the majority of our robot was built with a drill, a hammer and saws. And given what we had, I feel take pride our progress.

Most of all, I want to point out that our two mentors, the teachers in my school that have taught me mathematics, engineering and CAD and that I see everyday (literally, except for sundays and holidays), have gotten us this far. No, we had no engineers but we had two dedicated mentors that were willing to put their heads together with us, treat us as equals, and engage in the "engineering process." We all are human, we all learn, we all interact. So why not promote the interaction? Every team needs a mentor to push them in some sort of way -- so, the more the merrier.